


Who's Son?

by Gika_Black



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash, Slash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-20
Updated: 2016-02-04
Packaged: 2017-12-27 04:06:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 31,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/974127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gika_Black/pseuds/Gika_Black
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Harry third year, and other than a suposed mass murderer after him, he will have to deal with a sickness that leads to a discovery that leads to a bunch of new developments in his life, the greatest of them being the discovery of a new father figure, but who is he and how will they deal with all of this?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dragon Pox

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Filho de Quem?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/974177) by [Gika_Black](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gika_Black/pseuds/Gika_Black). 



> Disclaimers: I don't own the characters! I just like to play with them... I do own the plot, though...
> 
> Hey! So... this is actually a translation of one of my stories... so, I hope you all like it! Just so you know, my first language is portuguese... but I don't think I made that many mistakes... I hope...

Severus Snape didn't know exactly how it had all started. The truth is that he was still irritated by the fact that Slytherin had lost not only the game, but the quidditch cup as well, and that was when they had a hundred and fifty points of advantage! Two weeks had passed, and he still couldn't shake the knowledge that all of his problems were caused by one person. A griffindor that seemed to exist just to make his life a living hell.

With the ultimate care, Severus went back to the potion he was making. One of the worst stages of it was the addition of the  _Mimbulus mimbletonia_ root, and he added it with his gloved hand. HOW Harry Potter had managed to get Dragon Pox was a mystery not only to him, but to the school nurse, as well. Anyway, it was all Potter's fault, the fact that he was there, making the anti-pox potion instead of grading, or starting to make the wolfsbane potion for that damned werewolf.

It was a satisfied Severus who bottled the potion and took it to the hospital wing. At least while the boy was there, Severus didn't need to worry about another spoiled potion in his classroom. After delivering the potion, Snape went back to his dungeons, where he sat, ready to make spiteful notes on the badly done essays.

Unfortunately, his quiet moment was broken not ten minutes later by a frantic nurse, who showed up without announcement in his fireplace.

"What is it this time, Poppy?" he asked annoyed "What did Potter managed to do now? Did he managed to escape his bed even as weak as he is?"

"No, Severus, but... he had a major reaction to the potion! He can barely breathe! I had to do a tracheotomy on him!"

"Potter had an allergic reaction?" asked Snape doubtful, and without losing another second he used the floo to go into the hospital wing and see for himself what Potter had gotten himself into this time.

The scene wasn't pretty. Potter lied on one of the beds, all swollen, the skin green, like was expected in someone who had the dragon pox, and eruptions covered his skin, and, obviously, his throat had a hole, so he could breath. He definitely had had an allergic reaction to the potion.

The professor's mind went to all possible reasons that could have got Potter in that state, and in the end, there was only one ingredient that could ha have done that. Going back to his lab, Severus started to make a new potion, this time, to counteract the allergy.

It was a good thing that this potion needed only half an hour to be done, so the professor was able to concentrate on an alternative medication to the actual Pox.

This time Severus stayed in the wing to see Pomfrey administer the potion, another bad reaction and Potter probably wouldn't survive. For their relief, the potion worked as expected and Potter went back to be perturbed only by the maladies caused by the Dragon Pox.

When Severus was back in his lab, doing another batch of anti-Pox potion – this time without the dangerous root – a strange thought crossed his mind.

This was a rare allergy. A really rare allergy. And it was also a hereditary allergy. One that simply didn't exist amongst the muggleborns. HOW exactly did Harry Potter got that allergy? Poppy would have known if the Potters had it, since she treated James Potter since before he was born.

And then another thought came to mind, while he was adding the white lily petals in the potion. A memory. One of his bests memories.

_Lily, his lovely Lily was moaning beneath him. They're bodies united. Sweat covered their backs with every thrust he made. They lips joined in a heated kiss. Their hands caressing the others body, and she scratched his back, asking for more, more and more till they reached their high and they fell in the bed exhausted and satisfied. At least in that moment._

The end of the memory wasn't as good. Lily told him that she was in love with her husband. Told him that that moment, as intense as it was, was a mistake. That nothing could ever happen again between them. And then she left. Again. Knowing that he would keep that memory forever.

Severus almost dropped the spider’s legs he had. That memory made him think of another fact. The fact that his family, the Prince family was one of the only ones who had that allergy. But no. Lily didn't got pregnant till a month later. And Harry was absolutely certainly a Potter. The hair! The attitude! He was the heir to the family name! There was no way in hell that Harry Potter could be Severus Snape's son. No way! And he wound prove it. All he needed was to convince Poppy to get him a bit of the boy's blood and all could go back to normal. Harry would still be a Potter e he would still be a single man, in love with a dead woman and childless. Absolutely. Right? 


	2. The Prove He Didn't Wanted

At the end, convincing Poppy to take a few ounces of Potter's blood was easy. All Severus had to do was say he wanted to test the boy for allergies so "he wouldn't spoil another perfect potion in an obviously spoiled brat" and the nurse agreed that she actually needed the test done.

What wasn't so easy was to actually do the potion, since he still had to grade a lot of essays and prepare the wolfsbane potion for the werewolf. He also had to do the actual allergy test, seeing as the nurse would ask him for the results.

So, it was more than a week later that Severus had the time to do the paternity test and solve the 'Potter case', as he had called it.

"You're wasting your time." he said to himself "the boy is a Potter! There's no way on earth for James Potter to NOT be his father!"

But even with all that certainty, there was a little voice at the back of his head, that reminded him of Lily, that insisted that there WAS a possibility that Harry was a Snape.

With all the precision that was characteristically Snape, he prepared the ingredients and added them at the exact moment they should be added, stirring the potion the number of times it needed to be stirred, and at last, all that was missing was the boy's blood, that he had in a stasis spell.

When the potion was ready, Severus applied it onto a piece of parchment and waited the requested two minutes before he pointed his wand to it and said  _revelium._

Blood red letters appeared and he could read:

**Harry James Potter:**

**Mother:** Lily Anne Potter nee Evans

**Father:** Severus Tobias Snape

**Father:** James Charlus Potter

**Heir to:**

Snape Family

Prince Family

Potter Family

A thud was heard in the privet rooms of the potion master. Severus Snape had passed out and fell to the floor.

When Severus woke up, the first thing that came to his mind was confusion. He didn't remember what he was doing on the floor. The second thing he realized was the parchment in his hand. It was only when he looked at what was written in the parchment that he remembered what he was doing before he passed out. But the memory only made him more confused, and his mind was full of questions.

_Po... Harry. It'll be better if I start to think of him as Harry..._  thought the potion master  _Harry has two fathers listed... which means that he was adopted. And that could only happen if Potter (James) knew the boy wasn't his and accepted him anyway. But he wouldn't do something like that, would he? Adopt the bastard son of his wife? Especially if he knew who the real father was? No. Impossible. He wouldn't do that! And Lily! Lily hided it from me! I had a right to know her child was mine! Is mine. Mine. My son. My son with Lily. Po... Harry. Harry Potter is MY son... mine..._

It was too much information for one day. Severus sat in a comfortable armchair with a dose of whisky and decided that for the rest of the day he would just feel the burn of the whisky, the heat of the fireplace and bask in the knowledge that James Potter's son was actually his son. The consequences of that, he would start to think of them at another time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit short, I know... next one will be a bit bigger!  
> Reviews and kudos are always much loved!  
> till next week!


	3. Information

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a few excerpts from the book"Harry Potter and the Prisioner of Azkaban", everything you reconigse is from the book, so it doesn't belong to me...

Weeks passed and Severus didn't act on the new facts he had. He, and he alone had those facts right, and he didn't know what to do with them. So instead, the potion master spent those days observing. Observing his son. Observing Po... Harry. Observing his son, Harry.

During those weeks, Severus found a lot of things about the boy. Much more then he knew before, even if Snape had been observing the boy since the boy's first day at Hogwarts. This time, tough, Snape wasn't searching for anything specific. If before, every time he looked at the boy he was searching for bits and pieces of James Potter, now he was just looking, observing Harry and trying to let everything he thought he knew about the child behind.

What he found out wasn't what he had expected. Truly. Harry Potter was far from what Severus Snape thought him to be. And, unfortunately, it took an illness for Severus to be able to look and see more than what he wanted to see.  _Who am I trying to fool…_  thought the professor while he went over what he had observed that day  _I had to find out that Harry is my son to see more then James Potter's face, that he doen't even have!_

And it was true. The only thing Harry had actually inherited from James Potter was the wild hair in his head and the need for glasses. His face was a mixture of Lily and Severus. The nose was obviously Lily's, but the shin was like Severus'. And his attitude... his stubbornness didn't even come close to Snape's own.

Searching more closely, Severus found out that, differently than what he had expected, Harry wasn't a trouble maker like James or even the Weasley twins. He acted like he was more comfortable in the shadows, letting only Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger get close to him.

_When he isn't up in the air on a broom._ Remembered Severus, he still couldn't take out of his mind the spectacular victory – even if it hurt to say it – over Slytherin, the one that granted Griffindor the quidditch cup.  _But then again... he really is good at that game, and deserves the attention he gets. Attention he doesn't want..._  his mind went back to the other things he had observed in the boy. He seemed to hate his fame, something Severus had always accused him of loving. How could he be so blind to think that the boy loved his fame when he clearly was embarassed every time someone talked to him because of his boy-who-lived status.

The more Severus looked, the more he realized that he didn't knew Harry. And the more he started to see the true Harry, more proud he became that Harry Potter was his son, even if he didn't have a great part in the upbringing of the boy.  _But that is going to change._  He told himself _I don't care if Harry likes to live with his relatives. He has a father to take care of him, and that is exactly what I'm going to do for now on. Take care of MY son._

The Dursleys were one of the things he needed to take in account. During his observations, Severus never saw any communication between Harry and his relatives, so he didn't know what to think about them. Harry never talked about them, either, which he found strange, but couldn't do anything about.

The year was coming to an end, the exams arrived, and Severus hadn't told anyone about his discovery. He just watched Harry and his habits. That is how he found out about Hagrid's hippogriff condemnation, and he knew that Harry would want to console his friend. At first, he thought about doing something about it, but in the end he just let Harry go.

But, when he went to take the werewolf's potion and found that the mutt wasn't where he was supposed to be, and even worse, that he had gone after Harry into that damned tunnel, Severus saw red. The only thing in his mind was to go and take Harry to somewhere safe, and far, far away from the werewolf. That's how he ended up going to the whopping willow, and on the trip there, found the invisibility cloak he knew belonged to Harry. He decided that it would help him investigate what had made his son go in that tunnel to begin with.

Finding Sirius Black at the end of the tunnel made him fear for Harry's life. Hearing the werewolf and the mutt tell that dramatic story about the past almost made him sick. And when they came to the fact that he, Severus, was at Hogwarts, he couldn't stand still anymore, and the hate and anger, fear and anguish consumed him.

"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," said Harry slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"

"That's right," sneered with a cold voice from the wall behind Lupin.

Severus Snape was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointing directly at Lupin.

From then on, everything went from bad to worse. Severus never imagined that three of his students, two that seemed to fear him to death and the other who seemed to love all kinds of authority, would attack him, especially when they were in the presence of a werewolf and a fugitive. Harry's words hurt. And he did the only thing he knew in a dangerous situation like that, he was sarcastic and cruel. The result: he was hit by three expeliarmus spells, was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall, knocked out.

When he came back to himself, a group of dementors were going back to the gates, and he could see three bodies by the lake. The moon reflecting in glasses, told him that Harry was one of them. He went there, afraid of what he would find.

"No, please, be all right, be alive, whole!" he asked in a desperate voice.

He signed when he could feel Harry's pulse and breathing, even weak as it was. Then, he turned to the girl, and seeing that she, too, was alive, he chained Black, and charmed them to fluctuate behind him. He found the Weasley boy, also knocked out, and made him float with the others. The explanations would come later, he wanted to be there when Black received the kiss. No one put his son's life in danger and came out unscathed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews anyone?


	4. That's Not What How I Wanted You to Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT! There are some parts of the third book in this chapter... it was necessary! so... if you recognize anything, it's because it IS from the book...
> 
> italics = Thoughts

Severus didn't know what to think. Cornelius Fudge, minister for magic was called to give Black his final sentence, and, at the moment, was interrogating Severus about what had happened that night.

"A shocking story... really shocking. A miracle no one died... never heard of anything like this. By the powers, it was just luck you were there, Snape..." said the minister.

"Thank you, Minister" was the only response he was able to give, Severus' mind was going back to every minute of his memory of finding Harry unconscious by the lake.

"Order of Merlin second class, I'd say. First class, if I can convince them.

"Thank you, really, Minister."

"What an ugly cut you have there. Black's thing, I suppose?" and that was a terrible question.

"It was Potter, Granger and Weasley, actually, Minister. Black cursed them, I saw immediately. A  _Confundus_  spell, by their behavior. They seemed to believe that there was a possibility that Black was innocent. They weren't responsible for their actions. On the other hand, their interference could have led to Blacks scape. The kids obviously thought they would capture Black by themselves. They got out lightly for a lot of dangerous situations so far... and I fear that it made them thought themselves above everyone else... and of course Potter has always been allowed an extraordinary amount of license by the headmaster..."  _My son or not, Harry NEEDS someone to give him limits! If he keeps doing things like this, he'll end up dead! And I WON'T let it happen!_

"Well... you see, Snape... Harry Potter, you know... we're all a little blind when it comes to him." was the excuse Fudge used.

"And yet, is it good for him to receive so much special treatment?"  _as soon as he is out of this infirmary, he'll serve detention for the rest of the year! And I'm talking December here!_ Thought Snape "Personally, I try to treat him like every other student."  _All right. Maybe I don't treat him like the other students... but at least I never let him do whatever he wants without consequences!_ "And every other student would be suspended, at the very least, for putting his friends in a dangerous situation."  _and if I have any say in it, he'll be grounded till he learns to think before acting!_ "Consider, Minister: against all school rules – after all the precautions put in place for his protection – out of bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer – and I have reasons to believe he has been visiting Hogsmead illegally too..."

"Well, well... we shall see, Snape, we shall see... the boy has undoubtedly been foolish..."  _FOOLISH!_  Thought Severus, all his acting skills working so he wouldn't demonstrate how angry he was  _that boy wasn't just foolish! He was a complete idiot! What was he thinking! Going into a tunnel under a hitting tree without any idea of what was waiting for him on the other side!_ "What amazes me most is the behaviour of the dementors... you have any idea what made them retreat, Snape?"

"No, Minister. By the time I had come round they were heading back to their position at the entrances..."  _But if rumours are right... Harry probably had something to do with it too!_

"Extraordinary. And yet, Black, Harry and the girl..."

"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bounded and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers and brought them all straight to the castle.

Fudge was silent for a moment, absorbing the information. Severus couldn't stop worrying at the fact that Harry was still unconscious. At least it's what he thought, till he heard...

"WHAT?"

In the next second Severus and the Minister were inside the infirmary. Harry and Hermione were out of bed.

"Harry, Harry, what's this?" said fudge, looking agitated. "You should be in bed – has he had any chocolate?" he asked Madam Pomfrey anxiously.

"Minister, listen!" Harry said, "Sirius Black is innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's..."

But Fudge was shaking his head with a small smile on his face.

"Harry, Harry, you're very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back down, now, we've got everything under control..."

"YOU HAVEN'T" Harry yelled "YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!"

Severus just listened irritated. After everything he went through that night, to hear his own son defending the man that not only betrayed his lovely Lily, but also tried to kill him when they were at school... he didn't know what to do, his heart hurting him.

"Minister, listen, please." Hermione said; she had hurried to Harry's side and was gazing imploringly into Fudge's face. "I saw him, too. It was Ron's rat, he's an animagus, Pettigrew, I mean, and..."

"You see, Minister?" said Snape "Confunded, both of them... Black's done a very good job on them."

"WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!" Harry roared.

"Minister! Professor!" said Madam Pomfrey angrily. "I must insist that you leave. Potter is my patient, and he should not be distressed!"

"I'm not distressed, I'm trying to tell them what happened!" Harry said furiously. "If they'd just listen -"

But Madam Pomfrey suddenly stuffed a large chunk of chocolate into Harry's mouth; he choked, and she seized the opportunity to force him back onto the bed.

"Now, please, Minister, these children need care. Please leave."

The door opened again. It was Dumbledore. Harry swallowed his mouthful of chocolate with great difficulty and got up again. "Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black -"

"For heaven's sake!" said Madam Pomfrey hysterically. "Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist -"

"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Mr Potter and Miss Granger," said Dumbledore calmly. "I have just been talking to Sirius Black -"

"I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's mind?" spat Snape. "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive -"

"That, indeed, is Black's story," said Dumbledore, surveying Snape closely through his half-moon spectacles.

"And does my evidence count for nothing?" snarled Snape. "Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him on the grounds."

"That was because you were knocked out, Professor!" said Hermione earnestly. "You didn't arrive in time to hear."

"Miss Granger, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!"  _Did she really need to remember THAT?_ thought Severus.

"Now, Snape," said Fudge, startled, "the young lady is disturbed, we must make allowances -"

"I would like to speak to Harry and Hermione alone," said Dumbledore abruptly. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy - please leave us."

"Headmaster!" sputtered Madam Pomfrey. "They need treatment, they need rest -"

"This cannot wait," said Dumbledore. "I must insist."

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips and strode away into her office at the end of the ward, slamming the door behind her. Fudge consulted the large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat.

"The dementors should have arrived by now," he said. "I'll go and meet them. Dumbledore, I'll see you upstairs."

The Minister went to the door and held it open for Snape, but the professor didn't move. He couldn't believe that Albus Dumbledore had, yet again, fallen for one of Black's stories, and that once more, what he, Severus wanted would be second rated. Only this time Snape had more reasons to fight then when he was a child.  _Black'll never again be anywhere near MY son. Even if it is the last thing I'll do in my life._

"Surely you don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snape whispered, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore's face.

"I wish to speak to Harry and Hermione alone," Dumbledore repeated.

Snape took a step towards Dumbledore.

"Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen," he breathed. "You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill me?"

"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly.

Severus left the infirmary against his will and followed the Minister to the entry hall.

"Dumbledore just want to spoil the boy even more! I only hope Dumbledore's not going to make difficulties," said Snape. "The Kiss will be performed immediately?"

"As soon as Macnair returns with the dementors. This whole Black affair has been highly embarrassing. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to informing the Daily Prophet that we've got him at last... I daresay they'll want to interview you, Snape... and once young Harry's back in his right mind, I expect he'll want to tell the Prophet exactly how you saved him..."

"I doubt it Minister, but we can always wait for a miracle..."

After they met with Macnair and a dementor, they went to the room where they had left Black. What they found there wasn't what they were expecting. Instead of a defeated Sirius Black, they found an empty room. The opened window only managed to get Severus even more angry and annoyed. He was so angry that his childhood nemesis had managed to escape, that he let a roar of fury scape his lips.

Severus had only one thing in mind, Harry Potter had, somehow, helped Black scape from that room. He was sure of it. But he wasn't sure at whom the fury that was boiling inside of him was directed at as the professor started to make his way back to the infirmary, being followed by the Minister.

"He must have disapparated, Severus. We should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out -"

"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!" Snape roared, now very close at hand. "YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS - HAS - SOMETHING - TO - DO - WITH - POTTER!"

"Severus - be reasonable, Harry has been locked up -"

BAM!

The door of the hospital wing burst open. Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore came striding into the ward. Dumbledore alone looked calm. Indeed, he looked as though he was quite enjoying himself. Fudge appeared angry. But Snape was beside himself.

"OUT WITH IT, POTTER!" he bellowed. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Professor Snape!" shrieked Madam Pomfrey. "Control yourself!"

"See here, Snape, be reasonable," said Fudge. "This door's been locked, we just saw -"

"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!" Snape howled, pointing at Harry and Hermione. His face was twisted; spit was flying from his mouth.

"Calm down, man!" Fudge barked. "You're talking nonsense!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER!" shrieked Snape. "HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT"

"That will do, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly. "Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?"

"Of course not!" said Madam Pomfrey, bristling. "I would have heard them!"

"Well, there you have it, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly. "Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further."

Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked thoroughly shocked at his behaviour, to Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling behind his glasses.

And then, everything made sense in his mind. Severus turned to look at Dumbledore, his eyes flashing with anger.

"So it was your idea, Albus?" hissed Severus "your idea, wasn't it? To put MY son in danger to save that worthless Black, WASN'T IT?"

"Your son, Severus?" asked Dumbledore, and if Severus didn't know the old wizard like he knew, Snape would have thought that he saw fear in the blue eyes of the headmaster "what are you talking about?"

And that's when he realized what he had just said, and Severus stormed out of the room, leaving behind two startled men and three confused adolescents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all! See ya next week!


	5. The Truth Comes Out

Severus paced in his office. He knew that his exit of the infirmary wouldn't stop the headmaster to come and interrogate him. For Dumbledore to come and try to find out what exactly Snape knew that he didn't.

And he was right. Little more than half an hour had passed when Dumbledore came into his office without knocking.

"Severus" said the headmaster looking directly in his eyes "what EXACTLY did you mean when you said I was putting YOUR SON at risk?"

Snape took a deep breath before answering.

"Just what I said, headmaster." his voice showing calmness, even if calmn was the last thing anyone would feel when they had withhold something from Albus Dumbledore.

"You know very well that Harry is a Potter! What was all that? You never showed any sign of affection towards the boy and now you claim he is your son?" Dumbledore was getting more and more annoyed, and an annoyed Dumbledore were never a good thing.

"You're right when you say Harry's a Potter..." started Snape.

"Good! We're all set now, so we can move..." Albus tried to finish the conversation.

"BUT!" Severus didn't seem to mind the interruption "He's a Potter by adoption."

"That's absurd! What are you talking about?" demanded the older man "if Harry had been adopted I would've know!"

"I doubt even Poppy knows about it." was Snape's answer "and she helped give birth to the boy."

"Do you have any proof of that, Severus?" asked Dumbledore losing the sparkle in his eyes.

"You should remember that Harry had dragon pox this year, right?" and after a nod from Albus he continued "Harry Potter is allergic to the root of  _Mimbulus mimbletonia_." finished the potion master like it was the answer to all the questions.

"I still don't know where you going with this, Severus. This is an allergy found in magical families. Why is it important?"

"You're right, Albus. It is an allergy RARELY found and only among magical families. An allergy that the Potter family never had."

"And how could you be sure of it?" asked Albus, thinking of the consequences of Harry really being a Snape.

"Do you really believe that Poppy wouldn't know? She was practically his family's healer! The Prince family, on the other hand..."

"Always had this allergy..." finished Dumbledore "as your mother made sure to notify the school when you were accepted. But it's not only the Prince family that has this allergy!"

"No." agreed the potion master "but how many members of those other families actually knew Lily Evans and can claim to have spent a night with her some ten months before she gave birth? Harry IS my son, Albus. I made a paternity test with his blood."

Snape opened a drawer and after a little search, he took the results he had for more than a month now, giving it to the headmaster.

Severus had never seen the face of Dumbledore so pale in his life. Not even when they heard about the Potters' death.

"It's false!" exclaimed the headmaster.

"You can ask Poppy to redo the test." said Severus calmly "the result won't change. And since we're on this subject, I actually want Poppy to do it, as soon as possible, seeing as Harry will spent the holidays with me, and as far away as possible from those relatives of his."

"You can't do this, Severus." said Albus more relaxed "Harry's protected with the Dursleys. You don't want him to lose that protection, do you?"

"And what good does that protection if just last summer he spent most of the holidays on Diagon Alley?" asked Snape "there is nothing you can say that will change my mind, Albus. Harry is MY SON. And I'm going to take care of him."

"And when Voldemort is back?" Albus didn't gave up "are you going to give you son in a silver plate to him?"

"We both knew my spying days would come to an end, Albus. And we both know that I was never your only spy. Harry's guardianship came to me the moment I accepted the fact that he is my son, as you well know."

"Very well" said the headmaster, defeated "in this case, I believe it should be yours the privilege of telling Harry the truth."

"It'll be my pleasure." was Snape's answer.

"I'll ask Poppy to redo the test. Just so we're absolutely sure."

"As you wish, headmaster." agreed Severus "as soon as this test come up I'll tell the boy."

Albus nodded and turned to leave, but before he opened the door, Snape stopped him.

"One more thing, headmaster. Do you really believe that Black is innocent?"

"Without a doubt, my boy."

"What about his sanity?"

"I believe he's as sane as he always have been." was Dumbledore answer.

"You mean he's as insane as he always was..." said Severus  _which means I don't want him anywhere near Harry_ completed him in thoughts.

"He is Harry's godfather. You don't really think you can keep them apart, do you, Severus?" the twinkle in the old man eyes was almost blinding.

"That's something we shall see, Albus. And it will depend on how much he's changed, won't it?"

"I hope you know what you're getting into, my boy." were the parting words of Dumbledore.

_I hope too_ thought Severus, thinking about all the fights he would have to fight before he had Harry's trust.

The next day was the day the students would go back to their homes. Harry was finishing his packing when an owl delivered a message from professor Dumbledore asking him to go to his office, so they could talk about where he would be during vacation. At first he was happy, thinking that the headmaster had finally been convinced that the Dursleys were not the best place for him. The young man even imagined himself going to live with his godfather, even if Sirius was still running from the minister.

When Harry arrived at the headmaster office, though, he found not only professor Dumbledore, but the nurse and Snape as well. Harry had a grudge with Snape, and it seemed that the potion's professor had on against him too. At least till a few weeks back.

Snape might have thought that his acting hadn't changed around the boy, but Harry could clearly see a difference in the attitude the professor had when he was around. And the last thing he had said on the day Sirius fled didn't help Harry understand what was going on with his professor. Especially because Harry refused to think that what the professor said that day could be true.

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" asked the dark haired boy, sitting on the only vacated chair, between the nurse and Snape.

"Yes, my boy." answered the headmaster "we need to discuss where you are going to stay this summer."

"Are you saying I don't need to go back to the Dursleys, sir?" Harry was barely able to hide his hope.

"Before we talk about it, could you, please, donate a few drops of your blood to Poppy?" asked the old man.

Harry was confused.  _Why would they need my blood for?_  He asked himself. But he did what the professor requested and let the nurse pierce his finger and shed a few drops of blood inside a small cauldron.  _At least now I know why Snape is here_ thought Harry  _if they want to test my blood in a potion... he is, probably, the better person to do it..._

Dumbledore, Poppy and Harry were silent while Snape followed the last steps of the potion. Then, he poured it on a parchment and banished the rest of it.

"It takes two minutes for it to be ready." told Snape, going back to his place.

When the two minutes had passed, Dumbledore pointed his wand to the parchment and said revelium. Harry saw words forming on the parchment, but before he could read what they said, Dumbledore took it and read.

"Er..." started Harry "what is going on here, sir? What was all this?"

"It's a difficult thing what I have to do now, my boy..." said the headmaster.

"I believe that this privilege is mine, Albus." Said Snape before Harry or Albus could say anything more "Po... Harry. There is a... there seems to be a discrepancy involving your conception."

"What?" Harry could barely understand what Snape was saying.

"It seems that James Potter adopted you right after you were born." said Snape.

"No!" said Harry "it can't be! James Potter is my father!"

"By adoption." corrected the professor "it came to my attention, recently, a few details that made me believe that Potter wasn't your biological father. That actually, I AM you father."

"WHAT? NO! That's impossible! Professor! You know this is not true!" Harry was begging one of them to tell him it was all just a joke, a mean joke, but just a joke.

"I must agree with Severus, my boy." said Albus giving Harry the parchment "we just did a paternity test with your blood, and here clearly states that you are Severus' son."

Harry looked to the parchment in front of him and asked it to show him something to prove to all of them that he was a Potter, and just a Potter.

It said:

**Harry James Potter:**

**Mother:**  Lily Anne Potter nee Evans

**Father:**  Severus Tobias Snape

**Father:**  James Charlus Potter

**Heir to:**

Snape Family

Prince Family

Potter Family

But all Harry was able to read was  **Father: Severus Tobias Snape**.

"NO!" Harry tried to deny it again.

The world around him started to blur, and all he could do was hope that all this was only one of his strange dreams. But when after seconds he was still stuck in that nightmare, Harry got up in a hurry, making the chair fall to the ground and, leaving behind the calls from Dumbledore, Pomfrey and Snape, he run. And run. And run. The parchment that was his doom smashed in his fist.

_This just CAN'T be true!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Reviews? Kudos? anything?  
> see you all next week!


	6. Living with Snape? No way!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Here's the next chapter!  
> As you might know, inglish is not my first language, so even if I read and re-read the chapters there's probably a few mistakes that I missed... sorry about that!   
> If anyone would like to help me with proofread, just say the word!
> 
> and now, the chapter!

Harry ran, and ran, and ran. Without paying attention to where he was going, as long as it was as far away as possible from where he had come from. As far away as possible from Dumbledore and Snape.  _Me, Snape's son? NO! It can't be true!_ But the proof that it was true was still in his hand. And Snape's voice was still echoing in his mind telling him again and again "that actually I AM your father".

Harry only stopped running when he was out of the castle and by the lake. He fell on his knees, not knowing what to think, not knowing what to do, not caring that the other students were probably getting on the train back home that very moment.  _I should be on that train too_ he thought  _I should be going back to the Dursleys. And they don't know I'm not on the train, so they'll go to the train station and I'll won't be there... and then I'll have to go back there, AFTER they went to get me... when I finally arrive at privet drive... when I arrive they.. they... I CAN'T go back there! I can't simply show up at their door step AFTER they went to the station to get me! But... but Dumbledore said he wanted to talk about where I'm to spend the vacations... why couldn't he talk about that instead of doing that damned test! He can't think that Snape... NO! No way! They can't want me to go and stay with... with the dungeon bat! He'll kill me on the first week!_

Harry stayed there for hours, just thinking, without feeling the time pass. Lunch time came and went, and he just sat there, looking at the lake and seeing nothing. He felt more than saw when someone sat beside him. And even if he was curious to know who it was, Harry didn't turn to see, guessing he would find out soon enough.

"This is a really good place to think _" ahh so it's Dumbledore, then._

Harry didn't said a word. Maybe if he stayed silent, the headmaster wouldn't have a choice but to let him stay at Hogwarts.

"Your friends were worried," continued the headmaster "when you didn't made an appearance at the platform."

Harry turned toward the Headmaster, trying to make him say what he was there to say without having to ask anything.

"Harry, my boy. It's not the end of the world. Severus really worries about you."

_Worry... not care..._  the thought came to Harry without him wanting it to. He turned back to look at the lake. A black spot in the horizon seemed to be getting closer.

"Very well then." Dumbledore sounded defeated. "If you don't want to believe me... there's nothing I can do. Either way, Severus is now your guardian. Therefore it's his right to decide where you'll spend the holidays. And he has decided that you'll live with him."

Harry snapped his neck with the force he used turning to look back at Dumbledore.

"I'm NOT going to live with Snape." Harry said that so determined that for a moment Albus was surprised by the force of his words, seeing that Harry really mean that. But then, he was back to smiling "and you if you try and make me, I'll run away, and I won't come back."

Albus could hear the truth of those words, but he also knew that Severus was even more stubborn then Harry, and would never let the boy simply disappear in the world. Not now that Severus had claimed Harry as his son.

Before Albus could make Harry see sense, though, a small owl started to fly around their heads, a letter in its claws.

After moments, Harry managed to hold the owl still long enough to get the letter. The moment the owl was free again, it went back to flying around their heads.

_Dear Harry,_

_I hope this finds you before you reach your aunt and uncle. I don't know whether they're used to owl post._

_Buckbeak and I are in hiding. I won't tell you where, in case this falls into the wrong hands. I have some doubt about the owl's reliability, but he is the best I could find, and he seems eager for the job._

_I believe the dementors are still searching for me, but they haven't a hope of finding me here. I am planning to allow some muggles to glimpse me soon, a long way from Hogwarts, so that the security on the castle will be lifted._

_There is something I never got round to telling you during our brief meeting. It was I who sent you the Firebolt, Crookshanks took the order to the Owl Office for me. I used your name, but told them to take the gold from Gringotts vault number seven hundred and eleven – my own. Please consider it as thirteen birthdays' worth of presents from your godfather._

_I would also like to apologise for the fright I think I gave you, that night last year when you left your uncle's house. I had only hoped to get a glimpse of you before starting my journey north, but I think the sight of me alarmed you._

_I am enclosing something else for you, which I think will make your next year at Hogwarts more enjoyable._

_If ever you need me, send word. Your owl will find me._

_I'll write again soon._

_Sirius._

Harry took the other piece of parchment from the envelop and read.

_I, Sirius Black, Harry Potter's godfather, hereby give him permission to visit Hogsmeade at weekends._

Going back to the letter, Harry saw that there was a P.S.

_I thought your friend Ron might like to keep this owl, as it's my fault he no longer has a rat._

Harry looked up at the headmaster hopefully, thinking that Dumbledore had to accept the permission and that, maybe, he would realize that Sirius would be a better guardian than Snape.

"Er... Headmaster?" Harry spoke for the first time since he had left the head's office. "Do you think..."

"I'm sorry, Harry." Said Dumbledore "but the moment Severus accepted you as his son, you became his ward, which means that him, and him alone can sign that permission. And also that him, and him alone can say where you'll spend the summer."

"Then I think I'd be better at my relatives." said Harry sorrowful.

"If you think that, you can go back to them." said Snape appearing behind them "if you actually like living with them, go back to them. You can explain to them that you weren't in the train station because you found out that you didn't HAVE to go back to them, but still, you CHOOSE to go back there!"

"Severus!" chastised Albus.

"All right!" screamed Harry, turning back to Dumbledore "my things are still in the tower?"

Albus nodded.

"Good." said Harry "then I'll go get them, and then all I'll have to do is call the nightbus and I'll be out of here!"

Harry was blinded by rage, he got up and marched back to the castle, leaving a shocked Snape and Dumbledore behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope it was good... till next time!


	7. The Dursleys

And that was exactly what Harry did. A mantra repeated in his mind:  _I'm not going to live with Snape, I'm not going to live with Snape..._  again and again and again. Harry made his way to the Griffindor tower without stopping. And as soon as he was there he went to his dormitory, where his trunk was packed and waiting for him.

Without thinking about what he was about to do, Harry dragged the trunk all the way back to the entrance hall. His arms were heavy and tired when he arrived, but he didn't care. The trunk seemed to weight tons, but he didn't care. He almost stopped there, but Snape and Dumbledore where at the door, waiting for him, and the anger he felt came back, and he just kept dragging the trunk out of the castle.

When he tried to pass the men, though, Dumbledore started talking to him. "Harry, my boy, be sensible! You don't have to go back to privet drive anymore!"

Harry didn't answer, just tried once more to pass by them.

"Let the boy go." snarled Snape "if he likes to be tortured..."

Those words were like being slapped, and Harry let the trunk fall to the ground with a sound bang that echoed in the empty hall. He turned to face Snape, his eyes flashing with anger.

"Torture is what you do to your students. To me. Torture is having a teacher that never saw you before, but thinks he knows you, hating you just because you exist. Torture is having to stand that teacher badmouthing you father, that you never knew by the way, at every chance he has. Torture is having that same teacher prevent you to be with the only person that actually cares about you. Torture is finding out that suddenly, that same teacher has the power to say where you'll stay at during the summer so he can keep torturing you the whole vacation! That is torture. What the Dursleys do is child play for someone who had to learn to live with that."

Harry then turned his back to them, grabbed his trunk and went back to dragging it to the gates.

Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore were stunned in place, they didn't know what to say or do, and they were just capable of watch as the boy disappeared from their sight.

Minutes passed before any of them moved. And then, Snape broke the silence. "I really made him hate me, didn't I?" his voice was sad and melancholic.

"Harry has a great heart" Albus tried to cheer him up "I'm sure, with time, he'll realize you just want what is best for him."

"But for that to work, he has to give me a chance to show him that I care about him." was Severus rebut.

"And you will have that chance, my boy" said Dumbledore, his eyes sparkling again "as soon as you go retrieve Harry from Privet Drive."

"What?" said Snape astonished "Albus weren't you here right now? Didn't you hear what he said? He WANTS to be with his relatives!"

"No, Severus" said solemn the headmaster "at this moment, where Harry really wants to be is with Sirius. He's only going back to his relatives because he's scared of the unknown. Of you."

"Me?" scorned Snape "Harry Potter, the Griffindor Golden Boy, is afraid of the dungeon bat that he again and again faces with disrespect in class?"

"Ahh but until now you didn't actually had any true authority over him, did you?" said Albus looking to Snape over his half-moon glasses "now it's you who has total authority over him. Authority to care for him, and to punish him. And that is what scares him."

"What?" Severus was more confused by the second "he thinks what? That I'm going to beat him if he crosses me? Lock him in a dark room? Hex him? Albus! You know me better than that!"

"That's exactly what Harry is scared of, Severus" answered Albus seriously "I know you better than that, but all Harry knows is how his relatives treats him. And how you treat him in class."

Snape looked at Dumbledore like the old man had two heads. Severus had his suspicions about how bad the life Harry had with his relatives was. To begin with, there was the fact that Harry never received anything from them. Not a letter, a present, a note, nothing. He also changed subjects every time one of his friends tried and asked him about it, dismissing it, saying that his relatives didn't know how to use an owl. And even saying so little about them, Severus still had his suspicions. Exactly because Harry barely talked about them. That's why he tried to use the Dursleys to convince Harry to go home with him. The fact that Harry had refuse to go with him, choosing to stay with the Dursleys had made him believe that things weren't as bad as he thought they were. But now, listening to Albus saying that Harry actually expected him to beat him, to lock him up in the dark... it was like his worst nightmares had become true.

Then, a little spark of anger surged in his chest. Dumbledore knew that Harry wasn't happy with his relatives. WORSE! He knew that the Dursleys had beat and locked the boy and HE HADN'T DONE A THING! HE DID NOTHING! Nothing to take Harry out of that house!

Without saying a word, afraid that his anger would burst out of him and lash out at the headmaster, Severus turned his back to Albus and started walking to the gates. Once there, it only took him a few seconds to pass the wards so he could apparate, and then he was at Privet Drive.

Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough. Screams and shouts could be heard from the street, coming from number four. Walking fast, Severus arrived at the door and sounded the bell. His wish was to blast the door with magic, but all the neighbours were at their windows, looking at the house, probably trying to find out what had disturbed their perfect afternoon.

The sound of the bell made number four go silent in a second, and after a long minute the face of Petunia Dursley showed in a crack of the door.

"YOU!" screamed Petunia.

"Me, Tuney" answered Snape livid "where's the boy?"

"Y-you ca-can't came into my house!"

"The boy, TUNEY!" he asked again practically spatting her name "where is the boy?"

"Who is it, dear?" came a voice from inside the house.

"O-one of t-them, Vernon! H-he wants to se-see the boy..."

The door opened violently and a man that looked more like a walrus than a man appeared. The man was so big that Severus couldn't see a thing inside the house, even with the door wide open.

"WHO ARE YOU? WHAT DO YOU WANT HERE? THERE'S NO BOY HERE!" shouted Vernon.

Severus drew his wand and pointed it at Vernon's chest.

"It will be better if you let me come in and see the boy, muggle. And if you have touched one hair on my son's head, you will suffer ten times what you have done to him!"

"Yo-your so-son?" stammered Petunia "Vernon! The neighbours!"

And that's how Severus Snape managed to get inside the house of number four Privet Drive. And what he found there wasn't anything like what he was expecting. Unfortunately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay...   
> till next time!  
> Kudos and reviews make my day!


	8. Taking Harry Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!!!! This Chapter has mentions of child abuse.

The first thing Severus noticed when he went in to the house was Harry's trunk thrown inside the cupboard under the stairs. The second thing he saw was that the trunk that would maybe fit inside the cupboard – if put correctly – seemed to be stuck by something that seemed to be some dirty clothes.

The thing is, dirty clothes don't move on their own. Nor do they groan.  _No._ thought Severus.  _They wouldn't dare to do something like that. They wouldn't!_ But even if his mind tried to deny it, his senses were telling him it could only be one thing. Without caring about what Petunia was trying to say, he went closer to the cupboard.

And for his complete despair and fury, Severus couldn't deny it anymore. His senses were right.

With a wand movement Severus made the trunk fly out of the cupboard, so he could better see the pile of clothes. Only, they weren't clothes at all. In the middle of the rags, Severus could see a mass of black hair, a little of white skin, and the groans he could hear were definitively human.

In that moment, Severus Snape, feared potion master let his despair talk louder than his anger, and as gently as he could, he began to untangle the mass he could see was actually Harry.

"Harry..." he called in a whisper "Harry, please answer me! Harry..."

The only response was another painful moan. With care, Severus took Harry in his arms, realizing for the first time how light and small the boy was. With greater care and not even sending a glance on the Dursleys direction, he delicately put Harry in the couch, under the protests of Vernon and Petunia.

"Now listen here!" started Vernon Dursley.

With a speed few knew he possessed, Severus was standing with his wand pointing to the muggle's head.

"You listen." he said "nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, gives a muggle like you the right to touch MY son!"

"Your son!" Scorned Petunia "If he is your son, why didn't he stayed with YOU all this years after my insufferable sister died?"

"That's true!" agreed Vernon "if you cared about the boy you would have been here to take him a long time ago! While he is in MY house he has to go by MY rules. And I DO have the right to PUNISHED him all I like!"

A green light started to appear at the end of Snape's wand, but before he could pronounce the words that would rid the world of that walrus of a man, another, louder, moan distracted the professor.

"Incarcerus!" Said Snape instead, and then he kneeled beside the sofa, a loud TUD was heard when Vernon's body fell to the floor. "Come on Harry! Wake up! Wake up, Harry!"

Very slowly the green in Harry's eyes could be seen, the pupils trying to focus on Snape's figure.

"That's it, Harry" sighed Snape "you're going to be ok, son. I'll take care of you. But before…" Snape was standing again and he turned to look at the scene before his eyes.

Vernon Dursley was on the floor, a rope tied around his body making it even more difficult for him to breath, his face purple. Petunia was kneeling by his side, trying futilely to untie her husband.

A wand movement latter, and Petunia was at the other side of the room, and Severus could point his wand freely at the man of the house.

"I told you, muggle, that if you had touched one hair on my son's head you'd feel every second of the pain ten times worse!" a cruel smile showed in Snape's face "and it'll happen right now. Cru..." Snape started to say the curse but was interrupted when Harry tried to screamed "NO!" the boy barely had voice, but he still managed to make himself be heard, while he tried to sit on the couch.

"Harry!" Severus turned to his son, helping him to lay back down "you're hurt! You have to lie down and be still till I can take you to Poppy!"

"No..." whispered Harry again, still trying to sit.

"No?" asked Snape "What do you mean no?"

"Please..." Harry let Snape gently lay him down "Just... take me... home..." he said with a last supplicant look to Severus, and then his green eyes closed and Harry let the darkness take him again.

Severus looked at Harry baffled. He was amazed, thunderstruck and enraged.  _HOW DARE HE! STOPPING ME FROM TORTURING THAT MUGGLE! And using Lily's eyes to ask me to take him home_ …  _home... he wants me to take him home with me._  Severus was so into his own thoughts that he almost missed Petunia moving. Almost.

Petunia took advantage of the wizard's distraction and went as quietly as she could manage to her kitchen, where she took the sharpest knife she had, and then when she was going back to the living-room, she had an internal fight, trying to decide if she was going to use the knife to cut the rope that restrained her husband or on the damned wizard that had stolen Lily from her all those years ago. For a second she saw blood staining her cream carpet, from the wound she had made in the wizard's back, but then she looked in her husband eyes and decided it would be better to untie him, seeing as he was starting to become blue from lack of oxygen.

She was sure she would make it, there was only one more knot to cut, and then, Severus turned to look at them. The knife flew from her hand straight to Snape's left hand.

"Tut, tut, tut..." made the professor "did you really thought I would just let you untie this whale? Tuney... you should know me better than that!"

For a moment, Petunia thought she was dead when Snape threw the knife in her direction, but it passed her and carved a hole in her wall, not even an inch over her head.

"Your luck, you despicable muggle, is that I'm here for Harry. And apparently he actually cares if you live or die. And seeing as it would take too much time to torture you as I would like..." two beams of red light came out of his wand to hit first the man on the floor and then the screeching woman, making she fall to the ground unconscious.

Severus didn't look at them again, turning his attention completely to the boy passed out in the couch. Gently, he took the boy in his arms and passed the muggles on his way out of the house. With a wand movement, Harry's trunk was shrunk and Severus put it in his pocket. As soon as Severus was out of the house and out of the protection wards, he appareted to his house, appearing in the hall of his home in Spinner's end. Carefully he went up the stairs and to the second door on the left, where he deposited Harry in the bed. Unshrinking the boy's trunk, he put it at the end of the bed.

"There, my son. Now you're home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! And that was the chapter... till next time!


	9. Severus and Harry

When Harry woke up the next morning, the first thing he noticed was that he was extremely comfy, lying in a soft bed and hugging a fluffy pillow. The second thing he noticed was the lack of pain.  _Surely after uncle's beating I should be hurting all over… so, how come NOTHING hurts?_  Tried to reason Harry. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't heard the door opening. He also didn't saw when the dark figured posted itself right in front of him.

"I know your awake." said a cold voice Harry recognized. Startled, Harry opened his eyes and sat on the bed, looking in the direction the voice came from, he found himself facing Snape's dark robes.

"I..." but Harry didn't know what to say to his professor. He could still remember how he said he would never go and live with the man willingly. He could also remember how he had asked awkwardly for Snape to take him home. Harry became red in shame, and looked to the floor, mute.

"If you're feeling well, breakfast will be served in twenty minutes" Snape's voice was so cold it burned Harry "call for Krunch, he'll show you the way."

And without further ado, Severus Snape left Harry alone in his room, feeling even worse than before.  _I knew nothing would change… his son or not, he only brought me here because Dumbledore made him._

It was a miserable Harry that changed clothes, putting on one of the huge shirts that once belonged to Dudley and trousers that need a piece of rope to keep it in place. Harry looked around for the first time. There wasn't much to look at, besides the bed there was a chest of drawers, a bedside table, a chair and a window. The walls were light green, and the furniture made of a dark wood. A green rug on the floor was the last touch of colour on the room.

Leaving the bedroom, Harry found himself in a dark corridor with a candle as the only source of light.

"Krunch?" called Harry.

"Master Harry Snape!" exclaimed the house elf, showing up in front of the boy "What can Krunch do for Master Harry Snape?"

"Er... Could you call me just Harry?" said Harry, it was extremely odd to be called Snape "and... could you show me where the breakfast will be served?"

"Of course, master Harry Snape! This way..."

WHOSSON####WHOSSON

Severus didn't know how to act. On one hand he had managed to bring Harry, his son, to the house he grew up in. On another hand, he now had a child that didn't trust him – with reason – in his care, and he simply didn't know how to act around his own son.

Severus was caught by surprise when Harry came in the kitchen, where breakfast was already served. He was so lost in his own mind, that he hadn't saw when Krunch had left his side to go and fetch the boy.

"I see you're feeling good enough to walk around the house." His voice was much more biting then he had intended, and he saw the boy tremble under his eyes, but the next second he thought he had imagined the shiver, seeing how Harry looked back at him defiantly, just like he did in class, challenging him. Severus just wasn't sure what he was being challenge about.

"Yes, sir. I'm great." said Harry still waiting at the door, just looking at Severus.

"Sit down." Severus tried to sound less severe, but he didn't thought he had succeeded.

Harry sat at the table, and they ate in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. When both had finished, Severus stood up and signed for Harry to do the same.

"Come. I'll show you the house."

There wasn't much to show. The kitchen was connected to the living room, and there, all walls were covered in book shelves, even the passage they had just used to go out of the kitchen. Severus showed Harry which books he should pull to open the passages, the one to the kitchen, the one to the second floor and the one to the basement, where Snape's potion lab was. And that was it. After showing Harry how the house worked, Severus looked the boy in his eyes and said:

"Breakfast is served at 8 o'clock every morning. If you're late, don't bother to come. The same rule applies for lunch and dinner, which are served at noon and 7 o'clock respectively." his voice was anything but pleasant, and showed no emotion "you are FORBIDDEN to go in my lab, unless I have specifically called for you or in case of an emergency. You can amuse yourself as you want during the day, but your homework MUST be done by the end of the month. You can lend any book you can reach with you own hands. Now, I have potions to make, have a nice day."

And with that, Severus turned his back on Harry, pulled the right book to go to his lab, and disappeared in the darkness without a glance on Harry's direction. He didn't saw Harry's reaction, but if he had dared look in the boy's direction he would have seen how much his dry words had hurt the boy.

_If all he's going to do the whole summer is brew potions, why the hell did he wanted me here?_ Harry asked himself  _looks like being here will be as lonely as at the Dursleys..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was the Chapter! see you soon!


	10. Learning to Be a Father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here's the new chapter!  
> hope you'll enjoy it!  
> till next chapter!

Harry stood still for several minutes, looking at the shelf trough which Snape had gone. Sighing tiredly, Harry went for the book that would let him go back to the upstairs floor. Slowly he went back to the bedroom Snape had let him stay, and lay in the bed, looking at the ceiling. Long minutes passed, and Harry didn't move a muscle. When almost an hour had passed, and Harry still couldn't figure out what he could do that wouldn't irritate Snape, he went for his trunk. He took out parchment, ink and his books.  _Homework... the last thing I thought I'd be doing in the first day of vacation._

And that is how Harry spent his morning, trying to write a decent essay about the hows e whys the transfiguration of a cold blooded being to a hot blooded being was easier than the other way around. When lunch time came, Harry arrived with five minutes to spare and watched as Krunch made the final touches to the meal. Harry sat at his chair and waited for Snape, but when he didn't showed up, Harry eat a few bits, but Snape's empty chair kept glaring at him.  _It's even lonelier here than at the Dursleys… at least there I could go for a walk, or to the park…_  Snape hadn't shown Harry the way to the outside door, and there wasn't much the boy could do.

The Afternoon was as boring as the morning, so when it was time to dinner, Harry decided he didn't want to eat alone, again, so he stayed in his room and try to go to sleep early, maybe then, he would actually be able to rest. It would be an improvement from what his summer's nights normally were at his relatives.

WHOSSON###WHOSSON

Severus Snape was irritated. No. that wasn't right. Severus Snape was beyond that, he was mad, he was extremely mad. Mad enough to hex the cause of his madness. And what else could make him this mad, other than the bane of his existence for the last three years? Only Harry Potter was capable of making his that mad.

Seven o'clock came and went and there wasn't even a noise from upstairs. Half an hour passed and the boy still didn't show up for dinner.  _Alright, so I told him that if he was late he shouldn't bother to come down, but it's his first day here! What's he been up to that made him this late? And he didn't even thought to call for Krunch? What does he think he's doing? That boy needs to take better care of himself!_

Severus was only getting madder, so he got out of the table, his plate still more than half full, and he went to get his wayward son. He stomped up the stair, and not even thinking about knocking he opened Harry's door, ready to lecture the boy, but he stopped, mouth hanging at what he saw.

The floor was a mess. Parchment all over the place as well as books.  _Transfiguration_ , Severus mind informed him. And the boy, his son, was lying on the bed, asleep. The sheets were keeping him in place, warped around his legs. The scene could be sweet – even if Severus would never admit that he thought of something as sweet – if Harry seemed to be resting. But that wasn't the case, the boy's eyes rocketed under his eyelids, his brows furrowed, spasms shocking his body as if he was trying to get away from something.  _Not even in his dreams he can find peace._  And then Severus was startled. Harry jumped in bed, sitting upright and his screams echoed in the room. He was desperate, frightened. Severus had never heard anything like that, not even when he had been made to watch Voldemort torture someone.

In an instant Severus managed to get a grip on himself and went closer to the bed. He didn't know what to do to help the boy, he was just a boy, his son, who seemed lost in his nightmares even after waking. In an impulse Severus sat on the bed, trying to shake the boy awake, but his touch only made Harry more agitated, murmuring again and again 'sorry, so sorry, I'm sorry!'.

When Harry finally calmed down, fat tears were streaming down Severus face. He carefully laid his son in bed, and then he got up. Severus went to the door, but when he got there, he looked back at his sleeping son, and he just couldn't leave Harry there to fight his nightmares alone. In the end he decided to stay with his son, so he transfigured the chair in an armchair, so he could watch his boy's sleep.  _My boy. My son. What happened to you, that not even in your dreams you can feel safe? Am I a part of your nightmares?_  At some point Severus fell asleep too and Krunch, like a good house elf, covered him with a light blanket. For the rest of the night father and son slept in peace. The presence of the other chasing away all the nightmares. At least for that night.


	11. Starting Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the next chapter!  
> Hope you all like it!

When Harry woke up the next morning, the first thing he noticed was the sheets entangled with his legs, making it extremely difficult for him to move and get out of the bed. When he finally managed to free himself and sit, he realized that the silence of the room was interrupted by the even sound of breathing. Just... it wasn't Harry's breathing.

With his heart thumping in his ears, Harry scrambled to found his glasses and looked around trying to found the source of the sound. When he found he saw... Snape. Snape sleeping uncomfortably in an armchair by the bed, a blanket falling from his lap.

The minutes passed and Harry could only stare at the sight of Snape in the armchair.  _What is he doing here?_  He tried to figure out _did something happened during the night? But..._ and then Harry remembered:  _the nightmare! But..._  even if Harry remembered that he had had a nightmare, it still didn't help him understand what Snape was doing there.  _It was just a nightmare._  One of many Harry had had during his life. It wasn't a good enough reason to explain Severus Snape presence in Harry's room.

The boy was so entranced by his thoughts that he didn't noticed when the same man he was staring at started to wake up.

Severus Snape woke up with a feeling of being watched and a sore neck. If it were the old times, the feeling of being watched would have been enough for Severus to be awake and alert in seconds with his wand in hand. But the time for paranoid vigilance was over, even if the war was only in standby. So, before acting on his instincts, he decided to try and identify where he was and who was watching him before he did anything.

A fast breathing, the sound of the wind on the curtains and… the memory of the night before came back to Severus. The boy who didn't showed up for dinner, the worrying, the maddening irritation, the decision to go and see if the boy was alright... the nightmare. And then, the decision to stay near the boy, which resulted in his sore neck.

Slowly, Severus opened his eyes. Harry had the sheets around his legs and his face was turned to Severus, and his green eyes were staring unseeingly at him. He didn't seem to have realized that Severus was awake.

"How are you feeling?" Asked Severus. And Harry almost fell out of the bed. He really hadn't seen that the man was awake.

"I'm... fine. What... what are you doing here? Professor..." he completed after a moment.

"You had a nightmare." was Snape's answer, his voice showing no emotions, like his answer was the most obvious thing in the world.

The silence that fall unto the room wasn't exactly nice. Neither of them knew what to say. Harry was more and more confused, trying to understand where the Snape he had known for the last three years had gone.  _Merlin! Where the Snape that talked to me yesterday has gone?_ Because the one who was seated there, worried because HE, Harry, had had a nightmare, wasn't the Snape he knew at all.

Severus didn't know what to say either.  _I should have left last night_ his mind screamed  _wasn't it obvious he was sleeping peacefully then?_  When several minutes passed and silence was still there, Severus decided it was time to go. So he got up and went to the door, mute.

"Professor?" called Harry when Snape was about to leave. The man stopped and turned to look at the boy, an eyebrow raised that said 'what now?'

"I... I don't understand..." Harry said in a whisper. The boy couldn't look Snape in the eye, his hands playing with the sheet in his lap "I don't understand. Why my nightmare made you sleep in here when yesterday you didn't even care if I was dead or alive?"

Harry's voice got stronger and stronger, his anger getting the better of him, furry alighted in his eyes when he looked at Snape, waiting for his answer, hoping that it would let him scream and fight with the man.

A shiver made his way down Snape's back at the look sent his way by the boy.  _So much anger... and all of that directed at me? How did we got to this point?_

"Harry I..." Severus didn't know how to answer. His instincts didn't agree with the way he saw the situation. In one hand, the anger and cheek the boy used would normally mean an angry response from him, but the content of Harry's speech was full of confusion, feelings that Snape had to take in consideration while answering. He couldn't be rash, but he just wasn't a nice kind of person either. "If I really 'didn't even care if you were dead or alive', son, I wouldn't have gone to Privet Drive, now would I?"

"Like it wasn't Dumbledore who made you go there..." being called son by Snape made Harry's heart skip a beat. If it was disgust or hope he didn't want to find out at that point.

"Do you really think that if I didn't want you here, you would be here? Harry I ASKED you to came and live with me.  _Professor_  Dumbledore didn't make me do anything! You are my son!" Severus hadn't processed the fact the he had a son yet, even less that his son was there, in front of him, confronting him exactly on that fact.

"So what? Two days ago you hated me!" Harry's anger had only grown, just like his confusion. He had two family examples – the Dursleys and the Weasleys – and Harry just couldn't see Snape acting like Arthur Weasleys, preoccupied with his children, nor would he act indulgently like Vernon was with Dudley.

"Two days ago I didn't know you were my son!" Snape was getting frustrated with this conversation.  _It's almost like he want things to be even more difficult than they have to be!_

"I... I just don't understand it." Harry's anger was suddenly out of steam, and only despair remained "What difference does it make? That I'm your son? You don't know me!"

For the first time Severus realized that Harry was just a thirteen year old boy that just had his world turned upside down. Again.

"You're right." said Snape "but I would like to rectify that. I... I'm sorry." he managed to say "I don't have the right to treat you the way I did all this years. My son or not, I shouldn't have judged you without getting to know you. If you let me, I would like a chance. Would you give me a chance to get to know you, son?"

_Did Snape just apologize to me? **Snape** just told me he was sorry! Snape just told  **me**  he was sorry! Snape just told me he was  **sorry**! _ Passed again and again through Harry's mind. He couldn't absorb the meaning of that, it was just surreal to him. And now he didn't know what to say.  **Snape**  wanted a chance to get to know him, Harry.

"I... I don't know what to say." Harry said sincerely, looking in the man's eyes "no adult ever cared for me. Not really..."

Severus had never seen a look more expressive. Not even Lily Evans' eyes were able to show so much in a simple look. There was everything there. The anger, the confusion, the sincerity, the hope, the innocence. Severus was able to see all of that in Harry's eyes, and in that moment more than in any other he promised to himself that he would protect that boy with his life. From everything, and, most of all, from everyone.

"I DO care, Harry." he was being more sincere than he ever was "I know it's difficult to understand how a simple potion can change someone's mind, but I do care about you. And I would like the opportunity to get to know you, to be a part of the select group of people who actually know you. If you let me, I would like to be a father to you."

Harry never saw so much in Snape's face than at that moment.  _He's being sincere. He really wants to know me. He wants to be... my father..._  he still didn't know for sure what that meant, he never had a father figure, and there was someone actually asking his permission to be that to him.

"Alright." was all Harry managed to say. But in that moment Harry saw something he never thought he would see. Severus Snape smiled to him.

"Breakfast will be served in fifteen minutes." Said Snape before turning and leaving Harry alone in his room. The sheet still tangled with his legs, but this time his face showed more than just confusion, it also showed: Hope.


	12. Diagon Alley

Breakfast that morning was one of the strangest experiences of Harry and Severus' lives. They were trying to be civil, but the peace between them was like the thin ice in a frozen lake, and any bad move could make it all crumble, taking both of them with it.

But Severus knew that, if they didn't at least try to make their way through the ice, they would never get to the point where the tension between them was at least acceptable, and that if they let things stay the way they were at that moment, the trust Harry had in him would crumble just as easily.

"Professor..." Harry broke the silence "Are you going to spend the whole day in the lab, sir?"

It was an innocent enough question, but the tone of voice used by the boy – timid and scared – made Severus shiver and be caught in a memory...

_Severus was a little over seven years old, and he was sitting at the same place Harry now occupied... he looked anxiously to his mother while she drank her morning coffee... and just as soon as she finished it, she got up and went to the potion lab, without a glance in Severus direction. She just left him there, sitting by himself, having to find something to amuse him throughout the day. Alone._

He shook his head, to get rid of the memory that wanted to take hold of his mind. A moment later he was got a hold of himself and was able to answer Harry's question.

"You don't need to call me 'Professor' if we're not in a classroom, Harry. You can just call me Severus." in truth, he would love to have Harry calling him dad or father, but he knew they were nowhere near that stage in their relationship "now for your question; no. As far as I can see, your... previous guardian never did what they were supposed to do, meaning take care of you, so we are going to Diagon Alley today.

Harry stayed still, paralyzed. First by surprise, he wasn't expecting to be asked to call the stoic man by his first name. But then Snape had to mention the Dursleys – even if he had been careful not to say their names – and the notion of them alone made Harry freeze in fear. Fear that the man in front of him would go back to acting like the horrible potion master that humiliated him at every chance he got.

A minute later Harry was able to process all Snape  _Severus... I should start to think of him as Severus..._  had said, and Harry felt that good kind of warmth that comes when we realize that something good is happening.  _He wants to take care of me!_

"Harry? Are you alright?" Severus was starting to worry, Harry started to tense under his eyes, completely silent.  _Harry never manages to stay quiet... he always has something to say to me..._  he thought, and for the first time his thoughts wasn't full of hatred and sarcasm when he thought of Harry.

"I'm fine..." answered Harry, his voice full of emotion "what are we going to do at the Alley?" Severus had a smug look when he talked

"Let's see. The first thing we have to do is go to the bank, so I can make you officially my son. After that, we'll see what needs to be done."

Harry smiled, and Severus smiled back. While they finished eating, the silence between then was much more comfortable this time.

"If you are finished" Said Severus after several minutes "we can go now." Harry nodded and got up. In that moment he felt like the most normal boy in the whole wizarding world, in his way to Diagon Alley with an adult that actually cared for him.  _With my... father._  He managed to say, at least to himself.

WHOSSONWHOSSONWHOSSON

Walking through Diagon Alley with Severus Snape was an event. The people around them seemed to not know to which of them they should look. If to the Boy-who-lived, or to the infamous potion master who accompanied him. Harry felt almost relived, seeing that no one dare to approach him, nor did they stared at him for long in the presence of the older wizard.

Their first stop was the bank. The goblins seemed to be waiting for them, seeing as, as soon as they entered the building they were taken to a privet room.

"Master Goblin." said Snape in his usual no nonsense kind of voice, and the goblin didn't looked like he minded the man's tone.

"Mr Snape, the documents you required are ready" the goblin said, giving the man a pile of parchment.

Snape looked through them carefully before signing and turning to Harry "You need to sign this too, Harry." the boy looked a bit confused

"What are those?"

"The documents making me your official guardian, magically speaking." was the explanation.

"Oh..." Harry was suddenly taken with dread "but... it don't... change my name or... or..."

"You were magically adopted, which means it can't be erased." Severus could understand Harry's fear "you should see this as having three parents, and because of your magical adoption by James, all three of us are your biological parents. Where do you guess your hair comes from?"

"Oh... ok." With a better understanding of things, Harry read and signed in all the right places, meaning, wherever Snape told him to sign.

"Very well, sir, now you are legally the heir to two families, Mr Potter." said the goblin.

"Two?" asked Snape "I'm the first Snape with wizard blood so..."

"Yes, but your son has two magical parents, making him eligible as the heir to the Prince Family." explained the goblin.

"What does that mean?" Harry asked, all this talk wasn't making any sense to him.  _What in Merlin's name is this Prince family?_

"Harry..." Severus started, but one look at the goblin and he changed course "Thank you for your time. We are leaving now. Come, Harry, this is a story for another time and another place.

Harry was curious, but Snape looked like he did before they all found out about the truth behind Harry's birth, so he decided to stay silent for the moment.

Leaving the bank, father and son went to a lot of shops, all containing something Harry needed. The silence was comfortable but full of expectations. It was mid-afternoon before Severus was satisfied that Harry now had all he needed. The boy now had a new wardrobe, full of clothes that actually fit him. He also had a new trunk, with a featherweight charm in it, so Harry didn't need to carry a heavy trunk all through Hogwarts ever again. They also bought all the books Harry would need for his fourth year at school, since Snape new which books his colleagues asked of the students.

It was almost three in the afternoon when they finally stopped at a small restaurant in the muggle side of London. And it was there that Severus told the Prince Family history to his son, after making it impossible for anyone there to listen to what they were saying, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was the chapter...  
> reviews are always welcome!


	13. The Prince Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... As a Christmas gift I'll post 3 chapters instead os just the one...  
> hope you all like it!

"The Prince family descendes from the youngest son of Salazar Slytherin," Severus began. "His name was Simon, and he had three daughters but no son. He knew he wouldn't be able to continue with the family name, so he made sure all of his daughters were married into families of good reputation. The oldest of his daughters was called Samantha, and she was the most beautiful of them. Simon wed her to the heir of the King Family. The Kings were said to be the descendants of Arthur's throne, and they were a very prestigious family at the time. Now, the Kings had something of a curse on their line, they were only able to produce one child every generation, a son. But when Samantha married into the family she broke the curse, giving birth to twin boys. Growing up, the family couldn't say which of them was the oldest, so the fortune was divided equally between them. So that the brothers didn't fight, the Prince family was created.

"The Kings died generations ago; they were like Salazar, meaning that blood purity was the most important thing, so they ended up producing squibs or being sterile. When the last King died, the fortune went to the hands of my great-great-great-grandfather, Severus Prince.

"The Prince family also believed in blood purity, but had a different vision of what it means. Since Samantha Slytherin, all their marriages were arranged so they could be sure to find a consort with magical blood that wasn't too closely related to them. When I say magical blood, I'm including not only the self-proclaimed pure bloods, but also half-bloods and even a few muggle-borns. What mattered to the Prince's was a marriage between two powerful beings with a strong magical blood. Until my grandfather, Sirus Prince, that is what happened. He had two children, a son and my mother. My uncle, Sinope Prince died before marrying, so my mother, Eileen, became the heir to the family.

"She was supposed to have married Abraxas Malfoy, but she hated him and how he behaved around her. As soon as she finished Hogwarts, she ran away to the muggle world. It was there that she met and fell in love with my father, Tobias Snape, and she married him without telling him about being a witch.

"Because she married a muggle, my grandfather blocked her from the family inheritance by making a clause stating that the next heir to the Prince family had to be a male direct descendent of the Prince blood and with 2 magical parents. Seeing as my father was as muggle as your relatives, I was never eligible. You, on the other hand, fit all these specifications perfectly," Severus completed his explanation.

Harry didn't know what to do with all the information he'd just been given. A thousand things whirled through his mind, and he didn't remember which parts he had understood and which needed more clarification. At last, he decided to tackle the veiled confession made.

"As muggle as my relatives?" He asked in a murmur.

"Exactly like your relatives," was the serious answer. "That is one of the reasons I blame myself for not realising, I should have seen how alike we are. A lot of the things you did over the years that irritated me, now make much more sense. I'm not saying they were the right thing to do, but I can relate on why you would think they were."

Several minutes of silence passed while they both absorbed all that had been said in the conversation. After paying for the food, they made their way back to Spinner's End. A whole new level of understanding growing between them, making the silence that can often be oppressive actually quite comforting.

When they arrived home by floo though, they weren't met by the silence they were expecting, but by two exasperated voices.

"Where is he?" asked one of the voices. Harry's eyes grew huge when he recognized it.

"I don't know son, but I doubt Severus will be out for long," answered the other voice; more aristocratic, but still easily recognizable.

The green-eyed boy was completely paralysed in front of the kitchen floo gate, and Snape – concerned – didn't see the small tremors that shook Harry when the man passed him, going to see to his visitors.

"Lucius, Draco, to what do I own this unexpected visit?"

"Uncle Sev!" said Draco, and he and his father turned to look at the still open doorway that showed not only Severus, but Harry, who was still rooted to his place in the kitchen.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Lucius said threateningly. In a second, he had his wand out and pointed at Harry.

Harry closed his eyes sure he was going to be hexed.  _I knew it was all too good to last,_ was what went through his mind.

"I've never threatened your son, Lucius, so I would appreciate it if you were just as kind to mine," Severus's voice was almost a hiss.

"Son?" exclaimed Draco "since when?"


	14. Malfoys and Weasleys

"Severus, sit down," Lucius said, preoccupied. He momentarily forgot that Harry Potter was standing there. "You MUST be sick! Why else would you be claiming Harry Potter… HARRY POTTER!... as your SON?"

"Stop this nonsense, Lucius!" growled Severus when the older blond tried to pull him to the couch. "I'm not sick! Harry IS my son!"

"It's worse than I thought..." mumbled Lucius, looking with pity at his long-time friend.

Whilst the adults talked, Draco looked at the brunette boy, his rival, who was just standing still by the kitchen's door, looking at them all with wide eyes.

Draco knew much more about Harry then people believed. The fact that they were rivals gave him the chance to get to know the other boy. After all, he had to know which buttons to push to get a reaction from the famous boy. So he observed Harry at every chance he got. And by observing him, Draco was proud to say he knew everything there was to know about the Boy-Who-Lived. At least, that was what he believed until he heard from his godfather's mouth that the Boy-Who-Lived was actually... almost a relative of his?

It was mostly the shock of seeing Potter at Severus's house, and then hearing the man call him his son that distracted Draco from seeing what was happening to the boy in front of him. When the brunette started hyperventilating, Draco realized that his and his father's presence had brought it on. Impulsively, Draco put on his most sarcastic smile and said, "So, you've finally learned how to dress appropriately, huh, Potter?"

Draco's smug voice was enough to bring Harry out of his almost-panic attack. The green-eyed boy looked at the blond and realized that the sarcastic smile didn't quite match the worry he could see in those grey eyes. But before Harry could get a grip on himself and give the blond an answer, Severus and Lucius looked up at the boys, Draco's voice reminding them both that their sons were in the room with them.

"Draco, don't talk like that to Harry!" Severus lashed out. Looking at his son, he asked, "Are you alright, Harry?"

Severus's voice brought Harry out of his stupor. He looked at Draco, then at Lucius, and lastly at Severus. He nodded his head in answer and went to the bookshelf that would lead him to the second floor.

"I... I'll let you talk," Harry stammered as he rushed up the stairs.

"Harry!" Severus tried to call, but the boy pretended to not hear him.

"You need to discipline that boy," said Lucius disdainfully "Such poor manners."

"Actually, Lucius," Severus's voice got more and more venomous, "For the kind of life he has had so far, he is actually very well mannered."

"So, you found out about his relatives then..." Draco mumbled quietly under his breath, but not quietly enough.

"WHAT?" Severus was more than angry. "How do YOU know about his relatives, Draco?"

"Er..." Draco didn't know what to say, the adults looking at him with speculative and accusative glares, making him feel ashamed.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy!" exclaimed Lucius. "What exactly do you know about Potter's situation?"

"He hates living with his relatives… or hated living with his relatives, since he now lives with you Uncle Sev. He's the second smallest boy at Hogwarts... and I'm counting the ones that were firsties last year too! He always seems scared at how much food there is at the welcoming feast, and the only time he's ever comfortable is when he is flying his broom," Draco answered after a moment "Oh! And he only has two friends, because every time he talks to the other students, they look at him like he was Merlin... or Salazar, according to what's happening at Hogwarts."

Lucius was impressed. How Draco managed to get his hands on all of that information was beyond him, but at that moment, all he felt was pride for his son.

Severus, on the other hand, was analysing his godson's speech and all of the details that it had. He couldn't find anything wrong with what Draco had said. And whilst he was impressed – because it did show how perceptive Draco was – it also left Severus with a bad taste in his mouth. After all, he had always judged himself more perceptive then a fourteen-year-old teen.

"What I don't understand, though," continued Draco, cutting the silence that fell heavy around them, "Is how Harry Potter could be your son, Uncle Sev."

"Oh, I would love to know how that happened as well," agreed Lucius.

"It happened the same way all children are conceived," was Severus's answer.

"You mean..?" Lucius said maliciously.

"Exactly what your perverted mind is thinking Lucius. I had an affair with Lily Potter. Well, I suppose I shouldn't call it an affair..." Severus voice was full of suppressed emotions "It was one night, only one night. But it was enough for Harry to be conceived. James Potter knew the child wasn't his and adopted him magically."

"And how did you reached this conclusion?" Lucius wanted all the dirty details from that story. After all, finding out you had a thirteen-year-old son added to the fact that Severus had resented the boy for the last three years because the boy was Potter's son with the woman Severus had loved all these years, couldn't be sitting well for the Potion's Master.

"You should remember, Draco, that a few weeks after the last quidditch match Harry got sick?"

"Dragon Pox, wasn't it?" asked the boy. "I still don't know how he managed to get Dragon Pox at Hogwarts!"

"Yes. Anyway, I had to make the elixir he needed..."

"And how did an illness lead you to the knowledge of him being your son, Severus?" Lucius was acting very out of character, but he was so curious he couldn't help himself.

"As I was saying..." Severus continued, looking strangely at his friend. "Harry is allergic to the root of the  _Mimbulus mimbletonia_ ," he said with a finality in his voice, like the fact that Harry was allergic to the root should answer all their questions.

"I don't follow..." said Draco.

"This is a rare allergy, found only in magical families. The Potters have never had it," completed Snape.

"But the Princes do," finished Lucius. "I remember your mother had to let the nurse know about it."

"Exactly."

"And combining that with your relationship with Evans..." Lucius kept pushing.

"You understand Lucius, bravo! And all I had to do was give you all the tiny details!" Severus couldn't stop the bite in his voice.

WHOSSON###WHOSSON

Whilst that conversation was taking place in the sitting room, Harry was pacing in his room, his mind creating the most preposterous scenarios as to what would happen next. He was sure that the Malfoys would make Severus send him away. The fact that Harry wanted to stay with Snape hadn't quite sunk in yet, only the fear that he would be sent back to the Dursleys.

As he panicked, Hedwig arrived with a letter tied to her claw. The poor owl had to almost crash into Harry to get his attention, which made Harry jump, that's how lost he was in his thoughts.

"Sorry girl," said Harry after Hedwig landed on the back of a chair, leg stretched out so he could untie the letter. "I didn't see you there."

Carefully, Harry untied the letter and sat on the bed. He recognized the handwriting as Ron's.

_Dear Harry,_

_Where have you been? Why weren't you on the Hogwarts Express with us going back to London? Did something happen? Dumbledore said you had to stay at Hogwarts a few more hours..._

_Mom is worried sick! She wanted to talk to you, after all that happened this year... with Sirius escaping and all that... By the way, have you heard from him yet? He and Buckbeak escaped without problems?_

_Dad said there are rumours that you went to Diagon Alley today! With Snape! Can you believe it? You walking around with Snape? What are these people going to say next?_

_Write soon, we're worrying here!_

_Ron._

Harry felt his heart clench. Ron and the Weasleys were worrying about him. But at the same time it made him feel good. It showed him that someone actually cared for him. He also felt devastated. HOW was he going to tell Ron and Hermione about all that had happened in the last few days? HOW could he tell them that yes, he did go to Diagon Alley with Snape. And even worse, that Severus Snape was his FATHER! Oh... Harry was absolutely lost.


	15. Conflicts Ahead

Harry ended up deciding that he wouldn't tell the whole true to his friends by letter. He could easily imagine what Ron and Hermione would say. Ron would be shocked and nauseated with the concept that Snape was any ones father, let alone Harry's. Hermione, on the other hand, would be shocked and ecstatic, she would understand what an opportunity this was to him... and she would probably think about all the things Snape could teach her friend.

That was what Harry was thinking while he thought about what he should write, plus a few of the reasons he hadn't went back to London with them.

Dear Ron,

I'm fine! I promise! Dumbledore decided that the Dursleys aren't fit guardians for me (finally!) so, I'll never have live with them again! That's why I had to stay at Hogwarts while you guys went back to London... and that was the good news! Now a... not exactly bad new, but not as good a new... I'm not sure yet...

The rumours are right, for the first time ever... I really was at Diagon Alley... with Snape. He's my new guardian... Dumbledore thinks that living with him is the safest place for me... what with his experience in potions and DADA...

Tell your mother I'm alright, please. And that I'd love to see you all this summer... I just don't know if I'll be able to... I'll have to ask Snape... maybe your parents could ask him?

I'll talk to you soon,

Harry.

P.s. Could you tell Hermione for me? I want to use Hedwig to send a letter to Sirius... thanks!

Sirius' letter was even more difficult to write. Harry hadn't forgotten the hope and happiness that came with his godfather's invite. To be able to live with Sirius would have been the best thing ever for Harry... at least till he decided to give Snape a chance. In the end, Harry understood that the best thing he could do was to tell Sirius everything, even if he was afraid of what his godfather reaction would be to the news that Harry wasn't James' son, but Snape's.

Dear Sirius,

We saw each other a few weeks ago, but so many things happened these last few days that I'm not even sure it really happened. It all began the night you escaped with Buckbeak. Snape knew I had helped you, somehow... he was furious when he got to the hospital wing – luckily Hermione and I were already back there – he accused me of helping you... in the end he was so mad that he yelled at professor Dumbledore "So it was your idea, Albus? Your idea, was it? To put MY son in danger to save that worthless Black, WASN'T IT?"

I didn't understood what he meant with that at the time... but a few days later, when it was time to go away, Dumbledore asked me to go to his office. Snape and Madam Pomfrey were there as well. I... I don't know how to tell you what happened next, Sirius, I... I found out something that day. Something I'm not sure how to tell you so you won't hate me...

Dumbledore asked me to do a test, Sirius. A paternity test. They wanted to find out if I'm really my father's son. James Potter's son. Sirius... three names showed up as the result. My mother, Lily and... and two names as my fathers.

Please, please don't hate me Sirius! Severus Snape's name showed up as my... biological father. I... Dumbledore and Snape said that, as James Potter's name also showed up, but in second, that he adopted me...

I'm living with Snape now. Dumbledore wouldn't let me live with you... and Snape being my father... I'll have to stay with him now. We managed to not kill each other... yet…

I hope you understand... there's nothing I can do, Sirius! Please! I would've loved to stay with you!

I'll wait for your answer,

Harry.

Tears streams went down Harry's face by the time he was finished. A few had fallen in the letter while he wrote. Never before had Harry had someone that actually wanted him. Sirius was the first, and that meant the world to him, even if they barely knew each other.

When Harry went down to dinner that night, Lucius and Draco weren't there, and Harry was glad about it, he wasn't sure he would have been able to be civil to them. Snape didn't say anything about Harry practically running away from them earlier that day, and Harry was grateful for that. Dinner was served, and they ate in silence, each lost in their own minds.

A few days passed, and Harry hadn't got an answer to either of his letters. He and Severus started to talk a little bit during the meals, Harry especially liked when Severus would tell him things about his childhood with Lily. In exchange, Harry started to tell Snape a bit about his live with the Dursleys, from his earliest memories. They managed to keep civilized conversation, and until that day, no screams were heard in the house.

Harry was getting nervous and agitated by the lack of news, so much so that he could barely eat or focus on the homework he had to do. And then, an owl finally showed up, with Ron's answer at breakfast one day.

"Ah." said Snape "so this is what had you so nervous."

Harry flushed, he really wanted to say that the letter didn't have anything to do with it, but he knew that to lie would only put him in trouble, especially because of something like that. So, Harry only nodded and took the letter from the owl.

"And who is it from? To cause you such anxiousness?" asked Severus.

"It's from Ron..." told Harry "he wrote me a few days ago... that day we went to the Diagon Alley... I... I told him I'm here, in your house."

The way Harry said that told Severus a lot. He took from it that his son hadn't informed his friends about their changed relationship. Another thing he realized, and a much more worrying thing was the fact that Harry still wasn't comfortable with the living arrangements. If the problem was the house itself or if it was Severus, he couldn't be sure.

"And to whom else did you wrote?" asked Snape, he'd rather deal with one problem at a time "your owl has been missing for several days now, delivering a letter, I suppose."

Harry mumbled something, his eyes fixated in the letter.

"What?" Severus was getting irritated "and look at me when I'm talking to you, please."

"Sirius." Harry answered looking briefly at his father. The answer was barely audible.

"BLACK?" now Severus was really starting to be irritated "and what, pray tell, did you wrote the mutt about?"

"The truth." this time Harry held Severus look "that I'm here, that I'm your... son. That James Potter adopted me... everything. Well... almost everything. I didn't say a word to him about the Dursleys..."

Severus went silent for an instant.  _He told the truth! He admitted he's my son to Black!_

"And you haven't got and answer yet, I presume?" Severus couldn't hide completely the proud in his voice.

"No... Hedwig isn't back... but then again... I don't know where he is, so... she might haven't found him yet." Harry looked to his hands.

"Why don't you go read your letter, son?" Severus sighed, even if he didn't like it, he had to say it "I'm sure you'll hear from... Black soon."

Harry looked at him startled, and then a timid smile came to his lips. He nodded and went to his room, taking the owl with him.

In his room, Harry put the owl in Hedwig cage and sat down to read.

_YOU'RE LIVING WITH **SNAPE?** Don't worry, Harry, we are going to take you out of there as soon as possible! Dad got tickets to the Quidditch World Cup and you HAVE to go with us!_

_Don't let the bat of the dungeons stop you! Dad thinks it would be better is he talks to Snape too... but anyway, you NEED to stay with us for the rest of the summer!_

_We'll save you from Snape, don't worry!_

_I'll see you as soon as possible! QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP, HERE WE COME!_

_Ron._

_P.s. Mione is trying to convince me that you living with Snape isn't such a bad thing... don't let her talk you into believing it, ok?_

Harry laughed. His friends' reactions were exactly like he thought they would be. Ron seamed more worried than Harry thought he would be, especially because he didn't have the whole story yet. Hermione, though, Harry had got perfectly, she was already telling Ron all the good stuff that could come out of this arrangement. Now, though, to make Snape let Harry go the World Cup with the Weasleys… Was it even possible?

WHOSSON?####WHOSSON?

Lucius Malfoy had a huge problem in his hands. On one side was the disgust he felt about everything Potter, the boy-who-lived to defeat the greatest dark lord of all times, Lord Voldemort, Lucius master. On the other side was his friendship with Severus, forged by years of being tortured together.

The fact that the Potter boy was in truth his friend Severus' son, put him in a complicated situation. Lucius had known for a long time now that his friend wasn't a real deatheather, but till now, that hadn't changed their relationship, especially because Severus had always found a way to let him know when the light side was closing in on him. Their friendship was a true one, above the light and the dark sides of the war, or better, it was above the petty ways of Dumbledore and Voldemort. Now, though, it was clear that the Dark Lord was getting stronger, Lucius knew that his friend would never give up his son, not even for his position as a spy.  _And when one considers the fact that HE was defeated by a baby..._  Lucius thoughts went on a new path, a path he never before had let himself wonder about.

_With Severus found as a spy, the light side would need a new man amongst the dark..._ and in that position, if Lucius played his cards right, he would be in the perfect position on both sides, him and his family. They would be on the winning side, independently of which side won the war. He needed to talk to Severus about all that, and he had to do that soon, because of the plans to the after party of the quiddtich match.  _Hmm... maybe Mr Potter will be interested in seeing the game..._ the idea deserved some more thought, even Lucius knowing how easily he could get two more tickets,  _even more easily when I tell Fudge whom I want then for._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is it for today!  
> Hope you liked it!  
> See you all next time!  
> Please Review!


	16. The Way to the World Cup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo sorry ! I'm so so sorry it took me soooooo loooooong to post this chapter...  
> I hope that a three chapter post will help you all to forgive me...

Harry and Severus managed to find a common ground and a bit of peace for almost a full day before something happened to jeopardize it. Harry hadn't said a word about Ron's invitation yet, and the more he waited the more he was sure the older man would be mad at him. He also knew that his time was getting shorter and shorter, and that any minute now Snape would receive a letter from Mrs. Weasley talking about that exact invitation. Harry was sure that if he left all the talking to Mrs. Weasley he wouldn't be allowed to go. No questions asked. So, Harry tried to get his Griffindor courage and just ask.

And that was the time Errol choose to arrive at Spinner's End. Harry and Severus had just finished their dinner when the owl crashed against the window. Krunch was there quickly to open the window and help the owl, giving Severus the letter that had his name on the outside.

Severus was curious at first,  _what could those redheads want with me?_ But the more he read the angrier he became. His brow was up to his hairline, and Harry, watching, was getting more and more nervous. When Severus finally finished reading, he looked at Harry with such fury he could have set a whole forest on fire.

"So you didn't had the courage to tell me you want to spend the holidays with your friends, so you decided to give mother Weasley the pleasure of telling me?" asked Severus, his mind full of anger and deception and even a little bit of sadness.

"What? I did no such thing!" Harry managed to say.

"Are you telling me that you haven't told your friend Weasley that you want to go to the World Cup with him and that you want to stay with him till the end of the summer?" Severus words were like ice, cutting Harry.

"NO!" the boy yelled "I NEVER said that!"

Severus, though, wasn't listening, his mind concentrating in the letter that was getting more and more crumpled in his hand.

"I thought Griffindor was the house of the brave. Where is your bravery now? It comes out when the headmaster is around, so you can tell him exactly how I tortured you, but it runs away from you when it's time to tell me I'm not a good guardian to my face? WHERE IS YOUR COURAGE?"

Harry took a deep breath. He could see that Severus wasn't hearing a word he was saying, and he didn't know how to make the man actually listen to him. Not that he had any hope that he could say something that would make Severus let him go to the World Cup.

"Dad" Harry called, it was the first time he called Severus dad, he knew that if that didn't made Snape pay attention to him, nothing would. "I never said anything like that to Ron."

"What did you just called me?" Severus was paralyzed, he could only look at Harry amazed.

"Dad... you're my dad, right?"

"It's the first time you have called me that." Severus had to point that out, his mind still in shock.

"If you prefer, I can keep calling you Severus..."

"NO! That's not it!" Severus cut in "now, what is this about you never saying anything like that to Ron?"

"Exactly what I said... Dad." Harry too couldn't stop himself but feel emotional saying that word. Having someone to call that after all those years thinking he would never know what it felt like... "I didn't tell them about us... about you being my father... I wanted to tell them face to face; Ron told me his father got tickets to the Quiddtch Cup, and he asked me if I wanted to go with them, if you'd let me... But I NEVER said ANYTHING about spending the holidays with them! I swear!

Severus could see the honesty in Harry's eyes. There was a little bit of hope there as well.

"Very well. I'll think about it." he finally answered "But you are not staying with them for the remaining of the holidays, am I clear?"

"Crystal!" Harry had a little smile in his face, hope shined stronger in his eyes "Thank you for considering it."

Before another word could pass between them, the floo connection came to life.

"Severus?" said the known voice of Lucius Malfoy.

"I'll go to my room." Harry smile vanished, and without waiting for permission to leave or any kind of acknowledgment he left the kitchen, passing Malfoy and going to his room, not looking in the blonde's direction.

"That boy needs to be disciplined." said Lucius to Severus.

"You did try to kill him, Lucius. I cannot blame him for not liking you." was Severus answer, he offered a drink to his friend, and sat in his favourite armchair. "To what do I own this visit?"

"We have been friends for a long time now, Severus" started the blond "you are my son's godfather. And now that it has come to light that Harry Potter is you son, I think it is... important, to all of us, if you, Draco, Potter and I could came to an understanding."

"Must I remind you once again, my friend, that you tried to kill Harry when he was only twelve? And you forget to take into account that Harry and Draco's rivalry is almost as great as the one I had with James Potter and his troupe." commented Severus "if you have an idea of how to make them make peace, I'm all ears."

"I have five of the best tickets to the Quidditch World Cup Final. Potter and Draco are both mad about the sport. I'm sure they will put their rivalry to rest so they can enjoy the game, don't you think?"

"I think you became forgetful with age. You clearly didn't think this through, my friend." Severus had to measure his words "you forgot who your master is."

"OUR master, you mean." insisted Lucius.

"No, Lucius. As you well know, I swear to protect Lily, and, later, her son. Now I have promised MY SON that I won't let anyone harm him, and that includes YOUR master. We both know He was not actually defeated all those years ago."

"And we are still friends. So why does my allegiances have to do with anything? I'm only inviting my long-time friend and his recently found son to watch a quidditch game. Where's the harm in it?" asked Lucius.

"Where's the harm? Lucius! If you are seen being nice to Harry Potter in an event as big as the Quidditch Cup, someone will see you and when your master comes back you will be in trouble. And I intent to keep my relationship with Harry hidden from the public eyes for as long as possible."

Lucius stopped for a few minutes, thinking about what Severus had said to him. His friend was right. He had been blinded by his need to protect his family and be on the winning side of the war and didn't thought as carefully about how to do it as he thought he had.

While Lucius made his new plans, Severus figured out how to give Harry the best birthday present he could – there was only a few days until the date! - and he would still be able to keep an eye on his son while he enjoyed the gift.

"Tell me Lucius, how much do you want for one of those tickets?" Severus asked.

"Why would you want just one ticket, Severus? Don't tell me you want to send the boy alone!" was Lucius answer.

"Don't talk nonsense, Lucius. Of course I will not send Harry alone. The ticket is for me. Harry was invited by the Weasleys to the game, do not ask me how, but they will be at the Top Box as well. I wasn't planning on let him go, but if I can be there as well, I will be able to keep an eye on him.

"If you're aiming to keep your relationship with him away from public eyes, my friend, you can go as my guest. We'll be all on the Top Box, but to the public eye you will..."

"Be there as your friend and Harry will be there with his friends. Just a coincidence that we happen to be on the bests sits there are." finished Snape.

"Very well. We'll do it like that, then." agreed Lucius "but you'll own me. And I already know how you can repay me."

"And what is it you want me to do?"

"I need you to talk to Dumbledore in my name."

Severus Snape really didn't expect to hear that coming out of Lucius Malfoy's mouth.


	17. Harry's Birthday

A week later, the third-first of July arrived. It was Harry's birthday, and Severus had a surprise for his son. A little against his better judgment, he had wrote to the Weasleys, asking about who all was going to the quidditch game and making sure there would be enough adults around to look out for Harry, especially considering that the twins were also going. In the end, he allowed Harry to go with his friends. He, obviously, vehemently refused Molly Weasley's wishes that Harry stayed with them for the rest of August.

When Harry woke up on the third-first, he was a bit disappointed that there weren't any owls waiting for him. The fact that Hedwig hadn't come back yet just made him antsier about the lack of owls on this day. It also made him sad that, apparently, his friends had forgotten his birthday this year.

He changed his clothes and went down to the kitchen, normally he would found Severus drinking coffee and reading the paper, but today that was not what he found when he entered the room. Severus was there, but instead of having his face blocked by the paper, there was a small mountain of presents on the table. Right away Harry managed to see Hermione nice handwriting and Ron's scrawl. With a huge smile on his face, Harry looked at the cake Severus had on Harry's plate, on the chocolate icing were the words 'Happy Birthday, Harry!' with fourteen lit candles around it.

"Happy Birthday, son." said Snape, a small smile coming to his face when he saw the light in his son's eyes.

"Thank you!" answered Harry as he sat down.

"Don't forget to make a wish." the man said pointing to the lit candles.

Harry thought for a moment, in that exact moment he didn't know what more he could ask for. Then...  _a quiet year at Hogwarts._  He decided while he blows on the candles, extinguishing all the flames in one blow.

Severus took the cake from Harry's plate and in its place put a plate full of their usual breakfast food, pancakes, eggs, bacon and toast. All of Harry's favourites.

"You can open your presents after you're finished eating. You can also have a piece of cake if you want, the rest if for latter."

Harry just smiled and nodded. In that moment he felt like the most normal boy in the world, celebrating his birthday with his father. For the first time in his life. That he reminded, at least.

After Harry had eaten his piece of cake, he looked at the gifts, seeing who had send them. The first he opened was from Ron, his friend sent him a book, which surprised Harry, till he saw the title: 'Flying with the Cannons". Hermione's gift was also a book, but this time one about hippogriffs. Hagrid sent him more photos to put in his album, and Mrs. Weasley sent sweets and a card hinting that they could see him before the first of September. The twins' gift was a bag of colourful candies with a note telling him to try and give one to Snape.  _Not even if my life depended on it!_  Thought Harry  _coming from them_ ,  _dad would strangle me for whatever it is this does._

After opening all his gifts, Harry looked at his father, it wasn't that he thought Severus HAD to give him something, but after the man had gone to all the trouble of opening a window to receive the owls (probably around midnight) and making a cake and special breakfast... Harry couldn't help the hope he felt. It was the first time he celebrated his birthday and he knew he would always remember it with that warm feeling he was feeling that very moment.

Severus saw Harry looking at him, and the smile on the boy's face as he opened his gifts made Severus feel his heart swell with something he couldn't name. His relationship with Harry wasn't one of complete trust, Severus hadn't got Harry to talk to him about his life at the Dursleys, for example, but at least now they managed to be civil.

While he thought about that, he realized that he needed to do more than just let him go to the World Cup. It was a special day for the boy, he needed to do something big for his son's first birthday with him.

"Come with me to my lab, please, Harry." said Severus.

Harry stared at Severus for a moment, since he had arrived at the house, in the end of June, Harry had never set his eyes on his father's lab. He was curious as he followed the older man. When they arrived at the lab, Severus made Harry sit in a bench while he looked inside a cupboard. Harry got more and more curious. _What Dad wants to show me? And why today of all days?_  Harry wondered.

Severus finally found what he was looking for and came back to stand in front of Harry with a vial that had a bluish liquid with a grey spiral in the middle. Harry watched him, an eyebrow arched.

"I need you to drink this." said the potion master "it's part of your birthday gift."

Harry stared at his father's eyes, searching, trying to see a hint of what the potion would do to him. He was more than sure it was nothing bad, his father would never give him something that he didn't need, so he decided to trust the man without questions. Harry took the vial and drank the potion in one go. Considering all the potions he had to drink at Hogwarts, that was the best tasting one he had ever had to drink. That is, until he got the worst headache ever. It was so bad he had to close his eyes and lay his head down on his arms.

Thankfully it only last a minute and then it was gone, leaving Harry just a bit dizzy. But Harry still kept his eyes closed, even when he said:

"You could have told me it would hurt."

"Open your eyes, Harry." Severus said with a hint of a smile on his face.

Harry couldn't believe his ears, and that, more than the words, made Harry obey and look up at his father. Only... he couldn't see a thing, everything blurred in front of him. Thinking he had somehow smudged his glasses, Harry took them off. And everything got clearer than ever. He was able to see details he had never seen before, even with his glasses on, on his father's face.

"Wow! Is this how people normally see?"

"Am I right in thinking you can see better now than when you wore glasses?" Asked Severus, his lips twitching as he fought a smile.

"Yeah." Harry managed to say and then, he jumped his father, hugging him, not realising it was the very first time he hugged his father. "THANK YOU! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!"

Severus hugged his son back, cherishing the moment.

"As I said before, this is the first part of your gift." his voice was a little rough with emotion "let's go back to the living room."

They went back, and Harry looked at everything like it was the first time he had seen it all. In a way, it was. He had never seen so many details in his life. He was already smiling, but when he saw his owl, Hedwig, perched on a chair, his smile grew even more. Harry went closer, looking at her and admiring her beauty, awed by what he could see.

Severus coughed to get Harry's attention, and the boy looked back at him, the smile still on his face.

"I talked to Arthur and Molly" he started "and as I said, you are spending this holiday here, with me. But after talking to them I decided to... let you go with them to the Quidditch World Cup."

Severus didn't think it was possible for Harry's smile to get any brighter, but as soon as the words had left his mouth, it happened. Harry's smile illuminated the room, radiating happiness. And again, Harry jumped Severus, hugging him tight. A litany of 'thank you's' coming out of his mouth.

When they let go of the other, Severus looked at the owl.

"Apparently you have another birthday gift." said Severus noticing the letter tied to the owl's leg.

Harry looked at Hedwig again, he had been so happy to see her, and to see her so clearly, that he had completely forgotten she had been away for weeks now. With trembling hands, he took the letter and with a sigh opened it.

For long minutes Harry looked at the parchment, confused about what he was seeing there. Then, he looked at his father and asked:

"Er... How do I get to the backyard?"

Severus could have slapped himself in that moment. His son was in the house with him for a little more than a month now and he had stayed inside the house all that time, without complaining.

"Here." said Snape showing Harry what book he had to pull to open the right door. As Harry was doing exactly that, a thought occurred to Severus.  _Why would Harry ask about the backyard now, after reading that letter?_

Harry was already outside when an even more panic driven thought came to the potion master  _the owl was out delivering a letter to Black!_

He didn't lose a second, as soon as that thought came to him he was out of the still open door. What he saw as he put his feet in the yard was definitely not what he had expected to see.


	18. Sirius Black

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just posted THREE chapters... so if you haven't read the other two, please go back for it, ok?

Sirius Black was flying. But he wasn't on a broomstick or a sling or anywhere else that could be considered anywhere nearly normal. He was flying as the consequence of a very strong expeliarmus spell thrown his way by a Severus Snape.

Harry could just watch his godfather fly away from him, horrified when the man hit the wall.

"NO!" Harry screamed, hopelessly as Sirius fell to the ground.

Everything had happened so fast, Harry didn't understand what was happening. In a second he was inside the house, happy to see everything clearly for the first time in his life, happy to be able to look at Hedwig in all details, happy because he was going to watch the Quidditch Cup with his friends. And then, Severus reminded him about the letter Hedwig brought, and he opened it hesitantly, a little afraid of what Sirius had to say to him.

_Harry,_

_Go to the backyard._

_Padfoot._

Short and to the point. And very confusing. Harry asked his father the way to the back yard and he finally learned how to go out of the house for the first time since their trip to Diagon Alley.

A huge black dog was waiting outside. A huge black dog that jumped him as soon as he was out of the house, knocking Harry down, and starting to lick him all over the face. Two seconds after, and Harry heard Severus yell a spell and the dog was flying away from him.

Severus didn't thought twice when he went outside the house to see a huge grim on top of his son. He used a spell to get the animal off of him and saw, surprised, as the animal turned into a man before hitting the wall. Harry's scream only made Severus more and more confused by what was happening in front of him.

Harry ran towards his godfather. Luckily, Sirius seemed to be okay, and there was no blood either on the wall or on Sirius head.

"Sirius? Sirius! Can you hear me?" called Harry.

Severus stood there, open mouthed. But that only lasted a few seconds, and then he was at Harry's side, wand in hand, ready to defend his son if Black proved to be a threat.

"Go back inside, Harry" ordered Severus "I'll take care of this."

"No!" refused Harry "I can't abandon him like that! Sirius, please! Say something!"

"Harry..." murmured Sirius, trying to get up.

"Siri!" exclaimed Harry "how are you? Are you hurt?"

"Harry... Harry..." he kept murmuring.

"Shhhh..." said Harry "don't say anything. We're going to take you inside. Dad has the best pain potion, don't you, Dad?"

Severus looked from Black to Harry. The boy had a determined look in his eyes, a look that said without words that he wouldn't settle for less than what he had asked for, which meant that Severus would have to care for Black, or Harry would be very mad with him.

"Very well." said Severus conformed. With a wand wave he levitated Black and took him to the house with Harry following him. He lay Black on the couch and went to his lab, to look for a pain potion.

When Severus came back to the living room, Black was sitting on the couch, with his head supported in his hands. Harry was sitting by his side, a hand on his godfather's shoulder, whispering in his ear.

Severus hold the vial with the potion in front of the animagus eyes till the man caught it and drank it without actually looking what it was.

"Thank you" said Sirius after a few seconds "now I can think again."

"Sirius?" called Harry hesitantly.

"Harry." Sirius turned to look at his godson, hugging him "how are you?"

"How AM I? How are YOU? How did you got here? How did you know where I was?"

"That is a very good question." Severus intruded "HOW did you figured out where Harry is living now?"

"I followed Hedwig" answered Sirius "I needed to talk to you, Harry. Make sure you are fine living here, with... Snape."

Harry hugged Sirius again.

"I'm fine! You shouldn't have come! What if someone saw you? What if someone tell the ministry you're here? You could be arrested!" Harry said all that so fast neither Sirius nor Severus actually understood all he had said, but they both got the gist of what he was saying.

"No one saw me, Harry. I'm fine! And the potion is really good, so I'm not even feeling the headache anymore. I had to come. I had to be sure you were alright."

Severus couldn't watch that scene anymore. Sirius Black hugging Harry, his son, comforting each other, worrying about the other... it was just too much for him. It was so sweet a picture he almost gagged on the sugar coat. He had two options then. He could stop it all, send Black away and consequently loose Harry's respect, or he could leave them be for a while, let then talk it through. It wasn't much of a choice, so he left them be.

Harry didn't saw his father leaving. He was busy, making sure Sirius was really alright, and right there, with him.

"Siri... you... you don't... hate me... do you?

"Oh, Harry. Of course I don't hate you!" Sirius hugged Harry tighter "you're my godson! My Prongslet! Nothing in this world would make me hate you! Not even founding out your father is Sni... Snape. I'm here for you. Whenever you need me. All I want is for you to be happy."

"Thank you. You don't know how much that means to me. How much you mean to me."

They stayed there, hugging for a long time, just basking in the presence of the other. Sirius was the first person to care for Harry, the first one that said he wanted Harry. Wanted to give Harry a home. And that was really important to him. Sirius really cared about him. He cared enough to break out of Azkaban just to protect Harry. Sirius was the first to care, and for that, Harry cared about Sirius just as much, and Sirius opinion of him also mattered for him a lot."

"Harry." called Sirius after a while "can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Anything." was his answer.

"It's not that I'm not happy you wanted to live with me... but why did you accepted? Why did you accept it so quickly?"

"I don't know what you mean." Harry left Sirius arms, sitting on the other side of the couch, his legs against his body.

"You barely know me, Harry. I love you. I love you like you were my son. Since you were born I wanted you to be mine. But you spent last year thinking I was a murderer out to get you and then... right after you found out the truth... you were already trusting me to the point you wanted to live with me! I just want to understand, Harry. Tell me? Can you tell me how your life with your relatives was?"

"I... you wanted to give me a home..." said Harry.

"You should tell him the truth, Harry." said Severus, he had just come back, with a tray with tea and biscuits "Black deserves the truth."

"What truth?" asked Sirius "what are you talking about?"

"I had to go get Harry from his relatives' house." said Severus "Do you want me to tell him what I found when I got there, Harry?"

"NO! Nothing happened! NOTHING!" screamed Harry.

"Harry... denying what happened won't make it go away." said Sirius "I told you already. I wanted you to be my son since you were born! There's nothing you could say to me that would make me not love you."

"No... please..." pleaded Harry.

"Black is right, Harry." said Severus, even if it cost him greatly to agree with Black "you ARE my son. Nothing you could say will change it. I promise you. You can trust me."

"Ok..." said Harry in the end "I'll... tell you."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it for now...  
> Hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Reviews are always very welcome!


	19. Severus and Sirius Getting Along?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! WARNING!  
> This chapter has description of child abuse.

Harry stayed in silence for a few minutes trying to find the right words. He had never told anyone about what had happened to him in the Dursleys house. The closest Harry ever came to telling someone about what happened to him at his relatives' houses was his first grade teacher, and that was only after she had confronted him about his relapse in class.

You see, Harry's first month at school was made of pure joy. All right, so Dudley made it almost impossible for Harry to make friends, but he was out of his cupboard, and he was learning things, and he just loved to learn new things. And he was actually good at learning. It was the best month of his life so far. At least, until his first report was sent home. Harry new he had done well. And he had, he had done very well on his first month of school. Much better then Dudley. And that was the problem. After he was punished for "obviously cheating and lying to his teachers", Harry became withdrawn, completely lost interest in learning and spent his days at school looking out the window, even after the teacher had made him sit at the other side of the classroom.

She tried to talk to him, saw how he had changed, but it wasn't till she saw a hand shaped bruise in Harry's shoulder that she decided to make a house call and went to talk to the Dursleys. Two weeks later, she was out of the school, never to be seen again. Harry never let anyone see how much he liked to learn or how much he actually knew. He also became more cautious about hiding the marks Vernon left in his body after his "lessons".

"You know you can tell us anything, right, Harry?" asked Sirius, he got more and more worried the long Harry stayed silent.

"When I was three years old, I asked aunt Petunia why I have a scar on my forehead" started Harry at last "she said it was a souvenir of the accident that killed my parents, that my father was a useless drunk that couldn't even drive a car right. Then she took my plate from me and gave it to my cousin, and told me to stay quiet and don't ask stupid questions. It was the first thing I ever heard about James and Lily."

Sirius wanted to say something, defend James' honour, curse Petunia... anything. But he knew that if he interrupted Harry there was a high chance that Harry would stop talking, and he knew the three of them needed to hear what Harry had to say.

"A few weeks after that I asked uncle Vernon why I couldn't have a big room, with a real bed, like Dudley. He slapped me, grabbed me by my neck and throw me in my cupboard, telling what a freak I was and how a disgusting thing like me didn't deserve to have a big room. I stopped asking questions after that."

Severus wanted to kill Vernon and Petunia. None of them had the right to lay a hand on Harry or starve him. But like Sirius, Severus knew that there was much more to be said, and that only after that they could begin to help Harry face his fears and, maybe, start thrusting an adult.

"Aunt Petunia started teaching me how to cook when I was four. I helped with breakfast, minding the eggs and bacon. I only let it burn once. Aunt Petunia holded my hand over the burning stove for a whole minute. Afterwards she made me pull up all the weeds on the garden, without gloves. It was the first time she actually hurt me. Normally she would just scream at me and hand me to uncle Vernon so he could give me one of his 'lessons'."

It was the second time Harry mentioned one of these supposed lessons, his uncle gave him, and Sirius were dreading what they had entailed.

"Harry" Severus said, to Sirius relief and utter terror "what happened during this... lessons your uncle gave you?"

Harry's eyes became bright with tears not shed, and for a second, Severus thought about hugging Harry and telling him he didn't need to say another word. But he stayed still. Nothing would make him stop loving his son, but every word out of Harry's mouth made him cringe with guilt. Guilt that he wasn't there when his son most needed him.

"It was just... a spanking..." it was the murmured answer "at first..." the second part was just a gush of air, but neither Sirius nor Severus needed to hear it to see that "just a spanking" was not what happened.

"And afterward?" Sirius asked slowly, when Harry had stayed silent for several moments.

"It was just a spanking... it hurt, but it was only his hands. But then he caught me eating one of Dudley's cookies... and... and he... used the belt. The buckle."

Severus was beyond angry.  _How dare they hit MY son! I'll kill him!_  Sirius thoughts were almost the same.  _And Harry defends him, like he deserved to be hurt like that! I'll SLAUGHTER them!_

"And... that's it." said Harry feeling defeated "you can send me back now. Now that you know what a freak I am. I couldn't even defend myself from a muggle, how am I going to save everyone from Voldemort?"

And before Sirius or Severus could say anything, Harry was running, going up the stairs and locking himself in his room. He jumped in the bed and let the tear fall. It was the first time he cried since the very first time Vernon had hit him.

In the living room, Severus didn't know what to do. His instincts were telling him to go up and talk to Harry, make the boy understand that nothing would make Severus send him back to that hell of a life he had with his relatives. But he also knew that at the moment Harry wouldn't believe anything he could say. Harry was too full of self-hate to understand that Severus would never leave him. Especially not now that Harry was starting to trust him.

Harry ended up sleeping the day away, only waking the next morning, not knowing if his memory of the day before was an accurate one. Cautiously he went down stairs and went into the kitchen. What he saw almost made him believe he was still asleep. Severus Snape and Sirius Black were calmly sitting at the table, talking civilly.

Sirius was the first to notice the teen.

"Good morning, Pup." said the animagus "how are you feeling?"

Harry could just stare at them.

"You're not at each other's throat?" he asked, the fact that the day before Severus and Sirius had behaved while Harry talked was completely wiped out of his mind.

"I know how much the life of this mutt matters to you, Harry, so I made the effort to not cause him any permanent injury." was Severus sarcastic answer.

"What your... father meant is that we are perfectly capable of staying under the same roof without cursing each other. As long as we have something in common, in this case: you." explained Sirius.

Harry still couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Sit down, Harry. You need to eat something. How about a piece of you birthday cake? You only ate one slice yesterday." said Severus. The idea of Harry eating just cake as breakfast wasn't something he would normally condone, but after all the drama the day before, he thought his son deserved to be pampered a little. Not that he would ever say that out loud.

Harry did as his father suggested and the three of them spent a calm time eating. But after a while Harry couldn't stay quiet anymore, he was bursting with curiosity.

"Are you staying with us, Sirius?"

"If you want me to..." he answered hopeful.

"Really?" asked Harry looking at Severus "he can stay?"

"Black and I reached an... agreement. I think you are old enough to have a... pet."

"Dad!" protested Harry.

"Don't be offended in my stead, Harry." said Sirius "That's exactly what I'll be. This way I'll be able to stay near you even when you go back to Hogwarts."

Harry looked at them with tear in his eyes, and then he got up, hugged Sirius hard and then threw himself at his father, thanking them again and again.

"Now that that is decided, we can start discussing how you are to behave while at the Weasleys. Black is going with you, so you'll have to care for him." said Severus after Harry had gone back to his place.

"When am I going to meet the Weasleys?" asked Harry.

"In three days. The World Cup is this weekend, you're going there the day before that."

"All right."

"I want you on your best behaviour, you hear me? If I hear from Molly or Black that you misbehaved I'll revoke your Hogsmeade permission."

"I'll behave! I promise!" was Harry answer. He was even happier to know that Severus would let him go to Hogsmeade, Dumbledore had refused to acknowledge the permit Sirius had written.

"It's a deal, then." said Severus before he got up and went to his lab, doing what he normally did during the day, leaving Harry and Sirius to talk and get to know each other.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for today...  
> Reviews?


	20. The Quidditch World Cup

When Arthur and Molly went to get Harry the day before the Quidditch game, they were a little startled by the huge black dog that was lying beside Harry with its head on the boy's lap. And the woman was even more worried when Severus said that the dog was going with Harry to the Burrow and to the game. Severus had some fun trying to convince Mrs. Weasley that the dog was trained and made Sirius show them how he could sit and roll and give his paw and play dead. The couple new that Sirius Black was innocent, but Sirius and Severus decided that the least people who knew about Sirius canine personality the better. Ron and Hermione would obviously realize who the huge dog really was, but all the other Weasley would stay in the dark about it all.

As soon as Harry got up from the Burrows floor – he simply HATED floo travel – he grabbed his friends and explained that Sirius would be staying with them and that no one else was supposed to know who his new pet, Padfoot, really was.

The rest of the day passed quietly, or as quietly as it could pass when all nine Weasley were under the same roof. Bill and Charlie definitely surpassed Harry's expectations. He would never had imagine that someone so cool like Bill, with his dragon leather boots and long hair and an earring with some animal tooth – Harry guessed it was from a tiger or maybe a wolf – in his left ear, worked in a bank! Alright, so it was a bank run by goblins, but still...

Charlie, on the other hand... Harry almost embarrassed himself before the redhead could say a word. Harry stopped dead on the kitchen door, eyes fixed on the muscled arms of the red head. If Padfoot hadn't barked and taken Harry out of his stunned state, he would most likely have been trampled by the running dog.

Harry flushed red, but as he looked at the others he relaxed, seeing everyone was looking startled at the dog and not teasing him. The two oldest Weasley brothers got up to meet him, amazed that they were finally meeting the star of Ron, Ginny, Fred and George tales.

"I heard so much about you from Ron and the twins that it feels like I already know you." said Charlie shaking Harry's hand.

"I actually thought it was another prank when they told us how brave and shy you are." complimented Bill "Is it true that you went down in Slytherin's secret chamber?"

"Er..." Harry didn't know how to answer that "Yeah... Ginny was taken there... and there was a basilisk petrifying muggleborns and the teachers didn't know what to do so... I had to go there!"

"Merlin! We'll never be able to thank you enough for what you did for our Ginny." said Mrs. Weasley as she entered the kitchen.

Harry flushed red again, he really didn't know how to react with all those eyes on him.

"What did it look like? The chamber?" asked Bill "It must be full of artefacts from the founders time."

"I didn't look around much... too worried about the basilisk and Tom Riddle's memory..." Harry could see how much Bill would love to explore a place like the Chamber of Secrets.

"Oh... of course..." now it was the eldest son's time to be embarrassed "I didn't really think about that... You never had the chance to explore the Chamber of Secrets..."

"And who is your furry friend?" asked Charlie pointing to the huge dog.

"Ah! This is Padfoot, I got him for my birthday." answered Harry with a smile, remembering that Sirius had come searching for him on his birthday.

But his smile slowly melted when Fred and George glinting eyes rested on him. Harry had completely forgotten that the twins knew the Marauders' nicknames.

"Padfoot?" Fred and George asked at the same time.

"Yeah." answered Harry, a hint of panic starting to take over him, but it vanished when he looked at Padfoot and saw the way to innocent look the dog had "I thought it fitted him."

"Has he caused some trouble?" asked Fred.

"A name like that can only be trusted to a troublemaker!" finished George.

"Scaring my... Scaring Snape so much he actually stupefied Padfoot count as a troublemaker?"

"Oh, definitely!" agreed George.

"Scaring Snape is a very good reason to give him a Marauder name." said Fred.

"Who are these Marauders?" asked Charlie curious to know who could make the twins sound so reverently about.

"Just the best troublemakers Hogwarts ever had." was Fred answer.

"Till we came along." finished George.

From there the talk changed to quidditch and the next day's match. They spent the whole afternoon talking and basking in the knowledge that the whole family was there and enjoying the great food Mrs. Weasley had prepared. When the Weasley matriarch finally sent them all to bed, Harry laughed, seeing Padfoot sprawled in his bed. Harry didn't mind the restricted space, having his godfather there with him, protecting him allowed Harry to sleep like a rock, no dreams, but no nightmares either. Well, he slept as well as he could, until Mrs. Weasley came to wake them up, when it was still so dark out that Harry could barely see.

WHOSSON?WHOSSON?

Making Sirius to touch the portkey before it was activated was almost as difficult as explain his presence to Amos and Cedric Diggory, but in the end, they said it was for Harry's protection (Sirius Black was still on the loose, after all) and Harry hugged the dog, using one hand to put Padfoot's paw in the boot and touching the portkey with his other hand so that both of them would be taken.

Even waking before dawn, Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny and Hermione were widely awake while they tried to help Mr. Weasley with the tents. The Weasley patriarch wanted to do everything the muggle way, but didn't know what exactly that entitled, and Padfoot wasn't helping at all, laying on the canvas or the sticks, whichever they would need next. The hours before the match were spent talking and gossiping about all the strange people that came to talk with Mr. Weasley. Bill, Charlie and Percy arrived right before lunch and joined the others in their talk.

Harry's first surprise came when they arrived at the place from where they would watch the game. No one had told him they would watch the match from the Top Box, and Harry could just look, amazed, at all the people gathering around them in the stadium. And that's when he was surprised again. A few minutes after they arrived, Lucius Malfoy entered the box, his eyes darkening for a second when he saw that the best places where already occupied, and by the Weasleys! Draco came after him and a blond woman that could only be his mother followed him. But the true surprise came in the form of Severus Snape, who entered the box after Mrs. Malfoy.

Harry felt anger and disappointment fight inside of him at the sight of his father.  _Sirius is already here for my protection, right? WHY is he here too? And WHY didn't he tell me he would be here?_  Those thoughts and others similar to those ran through his mind, and it was only when the mascots began their presentation that he managed to forget his father's presence. Intriguingly Harry wasn't affected by the Veela's beauty so he watched amused as Ron, Fred, George and even Draco made a fool of themselves trying to get closer to the creatures.

WHOSSON?WHOSSON?

Watch as Krum caught the snitch was one of the more thrilling moments of Harry's life. The whole match was amazing, but Harry just couldn't take his eyes off of the seekers. Krum was just wonderful in his broom  _it's a shame that the rest of his team is not anywhere near as good as him,_ he thought when it became clear that not even the hundred and fifty points Krum would get for the snitch would be enough to win the match.

After the game, Harry and the Weasley went back to the tents, they were all so excited that sleep was far away from their mind. Harry sat between Ron and Hermione, Charlie sitting right in front of him with Bill in one side and Ginny in the other. The twins were sat beside Ron and Percy and Mr. Weasley were talking close by. They had already gone through every single move of the match and were now talking about various things, mostly Hogwarts related. Harry looked at the calloused hands of Charlie and asked:

"Charlie, how is Norbert?"

The redhead looked at Harry for a few seconds, trying to understand where the question had come from.

"Do you mean Norberta? The female dragon that was born at Hogwarts?" Charlie asked with a smirk.

"Born at Hogwarts? A dragon?" asked Bill "Since when does Hogwarts have dragons?"

"It doesn't." answered Ron "Not anymore, at least."

"Hagrid won a dragon egg in a card game" explained Hermione "and he thought it would be a good idea to hatch it in his hut. His wooden hut. We obviously had to convince him that... Norberta, you said? Would be much happier living in a dragon reserve."

"She's huge." Charlie finally answered Harry's original question "found herself a mate and is about to lay her first eggs."

"Hagrid wanted to raise a dragon?" Ginny was pale "Thank Merlin you three managed to convince him to give up!"

"Norberta was just a baby..." said Harry with a smile that would make the marauders proud "it was nothing compared to a three headed dog that was stuck in a small corridor."

"A cerberus?" asked Charlie "Hagrid has a Cerberus?"

"Fluffy." stated Harry "I'm not sure what he did to it, though..."

"Flu-fluffy?" Bill Choked in his tea "a Cerberus named Fluffy! Only Hagrid would name a Cerberus Fluffy!"

"It's better than Aragog..." grumbled Ron.

"Aragog?" asked Bill with a hint of fear in his voice.

"You REALLY don't want to meet Aragog." Answered Harry.

They kept talking till Ginny feel on the table, asleep. Mr. Weasley then decided it was time they all went to bed and they all went without much of a fuss, well, everyone but Harry, who almost felt like he was still watching the game. Charlie decided to keep the brunet company and Padfoot lay down between Harry and the door, his ears moving when the sounds from outside got closer. The Irish were still partying and their voices could be heard by them.

"Now that Ron is gone, who is Aragog?" asked Charlie.

"Aragog's and acromantula" said Harry "an acromantula with more than fifty years with a mate and thousands of children."

"Do I want to know HOW you know about him?" asked Charlie.

"Ron and I followed the spiders into the forbidden forest..." Harry answered and when he looked at Charlie, the redhead was looking at him as if asking  _are you insane?_ "Hagrid told us to do it! We were trying to figure out what was in the Chamber of Secrets..."

Charlie holded Harry's hand and looked into the green eyes of the teen.

"Do you have any idea how amazing you are? Fighting basilisks, following spiders into the forbidden forest, saving Ginny... you are amazing, Harry."

Harry didn't have time to flush with the compliment because the noises coming from outside picked that moment to turn from happy to terror. Padfoot was up in a second, growling to the door. Charlie and Harry took a second to understand the change in the atmosphere, but were soon waking everyone else up.

When they were all up, Arthur made then leave the tent, which was a good idea, seeing as there was already various tents crumpled or burning around them, people running past them not knowing where to go. Mr. Weasley made Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Hermione and Harry hid in the forest near them, Padfoot running with them growling to anyone who dare come near them.

Harry was never so happy to see Severus Snape as he was in that moment. A few moments after they were inside the forest, the potion master was beside them, guiding them to a less crowded place, keeping them together even when they almost lost themselves amongst the others.

"Is everyone alright?" asked Severus. The question was for all of them, but his eyes were fixed in Harry.

"Fine." said Harry looking around a little frightened. They couldn't hear the screams anymore, but their echoes were still inside Harry's mind.

"Very well, what you will do now is touch this" he showed them a piece of rope "it's a portkey that will take you to just outside of the Burrow."

When all six teens were touching the rope, Harry once more helping Padfoot, Severus let go of the rope and pointed his wand to it.

"But... what about you?" asked Harry letting go of the rope. The idea that Severus was staying in that dangerous place didn't sit well with the green eyed boy.

"I have to stay and help, Harry. And someone has to tell Arthur where you all are. Stay inside the house. As soon as everything is cleared here I will come for you, Harry. Now touch the rope, I need to activate the portkey.

Reluctantly, Harry obeyed and Severus didn't wait another second before activating the portkey sending his son and his friends to safety. He chose not to analyse the relieve he felt knowing that Sirius was still beside Harry, protecting him. Not losing any more time, Severus went back to the fight, masked men were torturing a muggle family that was suspended in the air. Aurors and other ministry employers were trying to save the muggles and arrest the alleged death eaters.

Two of the most audacious – or stupid – aurors started to hex the death eaters while another wizard enchanted the ground so it would be soft, in case the muggles fell.

The idea almost worked, two death eaters fell under their attack, but what really stopped the criminals was the appearance of a huge green skull in the sky. Severus felt his left arm tingle when the green light touched him, in the next moment all the death eaters were gone, taking with them the two unconscious men.

Ministry workers tried to get the responsible for the dark mark, but they weren't able to find him.

"Arthur" called Severus when he saw the Weasley patriarch start his search for his younger children with the help of his three oldest.

"Severus, if you're looking for Ha..."

"I already found him." interrupted Severus "I found your children in the forest and sent them back to your home."

"Oh! Thank you." Arthur didn't know what to say, the man in front of him seemed to want to keep his relationship with Harry a secret "In this case I think we can go back. Molly must be having kittens by now."

Severus nodded and saw Arthur vanish followed by his sons. When he was sure it was safe, Severus also apparated to the Burrow. As soon as he found his feet in the ground Severus was tackled by a human projectile with dark messy hair. Hugging his son he finally managed to relax a little. They were all all right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... That was the chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it!  
> Reviews??


	21. The Hardships of Telling the Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO SORRY about all this time without an update! And I can't even say that I had a good reason... just life and university getting in the way...
> 
> But I really hope you'll enjoy the chapter!

It was just after about ten minutes holding Severus that Harry let go of his father and looked around. Mrs. Weasley had tears in her eyes as she looked at him, but everyone else there, including Percy, Arthur and Hermione were looking at Harry like he had suddenly grown a second head.

"I..." Harry didn't know what to say. He had thought about telling his friends about his new relationship with Snape, but he had been so frightened that something had happened to his dad during the chaos that became the World Cup that he had completely forgotten that Sirius was the only one that knew the whole truth, and his godfather wasn't in a position where he could help Harry, having to stay hidden as a dog and all that.

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron was the first to get over the shock of watching Harry hug the dungeon's bat.

"Ron..." Harry started to answer, but he didn't know what to say to calm his friend down.

"No Harry." the younger redhead stopped him "don't try to fix this. Don't you see what's happening here? What he's done to you?"

"And what have I done to Harry, Mr. Weasley?" Severus couldn't stay quiet, seeing Harry doubt himself again.

Ron turned his head so fast it made a loud cracking sound, his eyes were huge as he looked at the potion master, he had completely forgotten that Snape was there. And his parents. He had just been so angry that Harry had hidden something like that from him.

"You... you..." Ron didn't know what to say now that he had the attention of everyone. His mother was looking at him reproachfully while Fred and George were sighing behind her back, telling him how screwed he would be if he didn't fix everything right that second.

"Ron." Harry tried again "if you calm down I'll explain."

"Calm down? Calm down? You... hug the old bat and I'm the one who has to calm down? You need to see a healer! Now! Snape has obviously jinxed you! Or... a potion! He must have made you drink a potion! That's the only explanation to what I just saw!"

"RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY!" growled Molly Weasley "You will apologize to Severus right now! I raised you better than this! How dare you say something like that about you professor!"

"But mom! Don't you see..." Ron still tried to defend himself.

"No Ron." Harry's monotonous voice made everyone look at him with concern "Your mother's right. You know nothing. You don't have a clue what happened to me this pasts weeks. Yes, now I get along fine with Professor Snape, how could I not when he's my dad?"

"DAD?!" this time Hermione and all the other Weasleys participated in the choir, startled by the news.

"That's right, Dad." Severus answered in his usual cold voice that made even Molly embarrassed about her reaction to the news. "Harry is my son, which means that if any of you have something to say about it, go ahead and say it now, in my face, because if I ever find out that one malicious comment made by one of you hurt MY SON in any way, the responsible for that will find out why I was considered a follower of the Dark Lord" Severus kept eye contact with every single person there, daring them to say something. When it became clear no one was going to say a thing, he looked back at Harry and said "Get your things, Harry, It's time to go back home."

WHOSSONWHOSSONWHOSSON

The next few weeks before the first of September went without problems to Harry. Severus tried to give him a bit more attention, spending a few hours after dinner talking with Harry and helping him with his homework. Harry also passed two afternoons with his father in his potion's lab. Without all the glares, Harry proved himself to at least be able to make a potion without much difficulties, but he'd never be as passionate about potion making as Severus was.

The last week of vacation Severus, Harry and Padfoot moved to Hogwarts. The potion master needed to prepare for the beginning of lessons, and as Severus simply refused to leave Harry and Sirius alone he demanded that Dumbledore provided rooms for them in his privet chambers at the school. Harry spent his days enjoying the sun, walking and talking with Hagrid or in the quidditch field. The image Harry made, completely relaxed flying in the Broomstick Sirius had given him was one of Severus favourites of all times. Not that he would ever tell anyone about it.

When the first of September arrived, there was a small misunderstanding in the Snape family. Harry wanted to ride the train from London to the school, but Severus couldn't see why he had to go and put himself in a dangerous situation just to come back to the exact same place he had left. In the end, Sirius managed to convince Snape that every student in the train would be expecting to see Harry there and that missing the train and being at the school before the other students would get unwanted attention.

Severus had a hard time conceding the point to the marauder, but in the end, he decided they were right, so he would aparate with Harry from Hogsmeade to King Cross station. Harry would take with him only his backpack, Severus had put his foot down, there was no sense in making the boy carry his trunk all around – again – when the house elves would be more then pleased to take it from the dungeons to the Griffindor tower.

Harry was nervous. He was sitting in a cabin more or less in the middle of the train. They had arrived almost an hour early, so Harry had been able to choose where he wanted to sit. Severus had made him promise not to step out of the train for anything till he was back at Hogsmeade, and after Harry had promised, Snape had went back to Hogwarts. It would've been terrifying for the other students to meet their dreaded potion's professor before arriving at the school.

Twenty minutes before eleven o'clock Harry saw a mass of orangey hair coming in the station. He watched as a few of them looked around as if searching for someone, so he put his head out of the window and called them. Charlie was the first to find Harry. The dragon tamer's smile could light the darkest of places. Soon Fred, George, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were inside the train.

"I'll maybe see you all sooner than you think" said Charlie, smiling when the twins put their heads out of the window to say goodbye to their mother and siblings.

"Why?" asked Fred curious.

"You'll have to wait and see." answered Charlie "Just don't say anything to Percy, he would go on and on about how it's secret information until the minister decides to divulge it."

"Yeah... Even I want to be a student at Hogwarts again." said Bill, his hands in his pockets, looking at the train with a longing look.

"Why?" asked George getting impatient.

"You'll have an interesting year..." answered Bill, his eyes twinkling "who knows, maybe I'll ask for some time off to come and have a look..."

"Have a look at what?" asked Ron, getting in between his twin brothers so he could better hear his older brothers.

Right at that moment the whistle of the train was heard and Mrs. Weasley waved at then.

"I'd invite you for Christmas but... well… I'd thought you'll want to stay at Hogwarts this year... for something or another..."

"MOM!" complained Ron "What do you know that we don't?"

"You'll find out tonight, I'm sure. It's very exciting, I'm pleased they changed the rules, however."

"Rules? What rules?" asked Harry, Ron, Fred and George together.

"Oh, I'm certain Professor Dumbledore will tell you... now, behave! Do you hear me Fred? And you George?"

There was a last whistle and the train began to move.

"Tell us what's happening at Hogwarts!" screamed Fred through the window as Mrs. Weasley, Bill and Charlie were getting smaller and smaller "What rules have changed?!"

But Mrs. Weasley just smiled and waved at then. Before the train had made the first turn, she Bill and Charlie had disappeared.

When they couldn't see the platform anymore they all sat. Harry looked at them with cautious eyes, waiting for one of them to say something.

"Look Harry, if you're sure that having the bat as your father is a good thing, there's nothing more I could say." said Ron after several minutes of silence.

"What Ron's trying to say" finished Hermione "is that after we got over the surprise of seeing you hugging professor Snape so suddenly... we got it. We understood why you didn't say anything about it by letter. Does he take good care of you?"

"Yes. It's the best thing that ever happened to me." answered Harry sincerely.

"Then I'm happy for you." she said smiling at him.

"You sure he didn't give you some potion to make you change the way you think about him?" Ron had to try again.

Harry laughed. Fred slapped his younger brother's head and everyone else started laughing as well. Soon they had forgotten everything and went back to trying to guess what Mrs. Weasley, Charlie and Bill had been talking about. In that moment, Harry felt completely at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews anyone?


	22. New Year, New Expectations

The students arrived at Hogwarts under a heavy rain. Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny were shivering with cold and were completely soaked just from the short walk between the train to the carriages and then from the carriages to the castle as they sat in the Great Hall, wainting for the sorting.

"Wow." Said Harry "it's a good thing we're not in first year anymore! The boat ride must've been terrible this year!"

But before any of the other could say anything, professor McGonagal walked in, followed by the line of wet first year students.

The Sorting followed as usual and when all the students, new and old, were seated professor Dumbledore got up. For Ron's good fortune – he was already complaining about being hungry – the headmaster didn't have much to say at that point and was done after a "Welcome all, let's enjoy our feast!"

Conversations on various subjects emerged between the students, among them the absence of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but eventually, when they were all satisfied, the headmaster stood up again. It was time to find out what would happen at Hogwarts that year.

"Now that we're all satisfied, I have a few announcements to make. The first is that the inter-house quidditch cup will not take place this year."

This announcement was followed by boos and shouts. The loudest were Fred and George Weasley.

"NO!" shouted the twins "you can't do this!"

"Calm down, calm down." Dumbledore went on "the reason for that is that Hogwarts will be the stage of another event this year, one that hasn't been held for over a hundred years. I'm pleased to announce that this year Hogwarts will be host to the Triwizard Tournament!"

The noise made by students buzz could be heard from the outside. Some looked to the others without understanding why they were all yelling.

"For those who already know what the tournament is about, I must ask you to ignore my next words, for those who do not know, the Triwizard Tournament is a competition between the three major schools of wizardry, Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Drumstrung, each school will be represented by a student and compete in three tasks to achieve eternal glory and honor to theirs school."

"Eternal glory?" Fred spoke "I'm in!"

"But!" continued Dumbledore "as a matter of safety, some new rules have been implemented in this year's tournament. Only students of legal age, i.e., students who have completed 17 years, may try to participate in the tournament."

"BOOOOO" shouted George "we have to find a way to enter this tournament."

"You can't!" Hermione snapped "you're not 17 yet!"

But before that discussion could take larger proportions, the doors of the Great hall opened with a bang. A male figure was illuminated by the lightning. From his seat at the Gryffindor table, Harry could see a scarred face and a strange electric blue eye. The hint of a wooden leg could also be seen in the barely illuminate room.

"Ah! My dear students, I would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, the ex-Auror Alastor Moody."

Moody walked slowly to the staff table followed by whispers of students. Dumbledore talked to him for a few moments and then sent the students to their dorms. The arrival of Moody had left an impression on the students. An impression that actually managed to compete with the expectations about the tournament in the students' attention. The talks in the dorms lasted for a while that night. But classes would begin the next morning so, after some time, only silence could heard throughout the castle.

WHOSSONWHOSSONWHOSSON

The first week of classes was a normal first week for Severus. Well... as normal as you can get in a magic school where daily caldron's explosions were the norm in his first years classes. All because Dumbledore insisted in grouping Gryffindors and Slytherins, something that Severus could never understand.

It was on the fourth day os classes that Severus discovered the first of the many problems he would have to solve during the year. It was just before dinner, when Severus had finally had a moment of peace, especially because the next day he would have to pretend to hate his own son for two hours, and he was trying to relax for a few moments when... knock knock knock ... someone was knocked on the door of his office. With a sigh of defeat, Severus returned the bottle of Ogden's Old to the bottom drawer of his desk and gave permission to whoever was outside to enter.

Draco Malfoy entered the office, his face showing grief that he would never dare to show in front of his peers.

"Draco." Severus said "what brings you here so soon in the year?"

"I think you should talk to Potter."

Severus looked at Draco as if he had sprouted a second head.

"And why should I do that, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Because Moody decided to show the whole class just how the dark lord killed his mother."

Severus was up in a second.

"What?" He could not understand why the auror would do something like that.

"Moody thinks we should know what to expect, so he showed us all the unforgivable curses in class today. Potter seemed shaken after he used Avada Kedavra on a spider."

"Alastor Moody used all the unforgivables in front of the fourth year students?" Severus's brain could not fully understand what that meant.

"Yeah. On a spider." Was Draco's answer "he made it bigger" that moment Draco could not suppress a shiver of disgust and terror "to better demonstrate the effects of the Cruciatus."

Severus stared incredulously at his godson.

"And he said he wants to put us all under the imperius..."

Draco didn't had time to finish speaking. Severus was already out of the room and was striding into the Great Hall. Not wanting to miss the show that was sure to happen, Draco quickly followed his godfather.

Severus was livid. He entered the Great Hall with a bang, causing the doors to hit the wall and come back nearly closing on a couple of Ravenclaws. He walked with long strides, cloak billowing behind him, the eyes of every students present fixed on him, and the tension-filled silence was interrupted only by the light sound of Severus' shoes touching the ground.

"Albus" the hissing voice of Snape ran through the hall "we have a serious issue to discuss, a matter of extreme urgency. Something that if it's not solved TODAY will surely bring many problems. Very. Soon."

"Very well, Severus." Dumbledore replied seriously "let's go to my office."

"Maybe it would be… advisable" continued the potion master "if all the head of the houses were present to this... meeting."

"A problem that serious in the first week?" Asked Minerva.

"I'm afraid so." He answered before turning and walking back down the hall, making his way to the headmaster's office.

When they were all accommodated, Dumbledore looked expectantly at Severus.

"Are you aware, Albus, of what Moody is doing his students?" Severus wasn't able to completely hide the anger he felt at the simple thought of a teacher raising his wand to a student.

"Alastor has carte blanche to do his curriculum, but he has my full confidence, Severus." The answer was director.

"So you would accept easily the idea of Moody not only talking, but DEMONSTRATING all of the unforgivable curses, for a fourth year class? A class that contains not only Ha ... Potter, but also Longbottom?" The words were steeled ice coming from Severus' mouth.

"Demonstrated, Severus?" McGonagall asked with a frown.

"Demonstrated, Minerva. Apparently he found it necessary to show the effects of the three curses in a spider. And to give greater clarity to these effects, he increased the size of the arachnid."

"I'm sure that's just an exaggeration ..." Albus tried to find an excuse.

"And you certainly will find that it is also an exaggeration of the students, the warning he gave? That in the next class he will put the students under the influence of the Imperius? Just so they have an idea of how it is to be under the control of another person?" With every word Severus showed more and more of the anger he felt.

"Alastor would never do that." Was Albus' answer.

"Just as he would never transfigured a student as punishment, Albus?" Asked Minerva.

"You have to see that there is something very wrong with Mad-Eye Moody, Albus." Spoke Pomona Sprout "I know he lives under the motto 'Constant Vigilance', but to expect that a fourth year student could resist to an unforgivable curse..."

"Very well." said Albus defeated "I think we have no other choice but to ask Alastor about it."

"I'll provide Veritaserum." Severus said rising " so we can clarify this as fast as possible."

And without giving Albus a chance to refute the use of the truth serum, Severus was out of the office. There was something very wrong with that man, and Severus would not rest until he found out what he was hiding. With the Triwizard tournament approaching, he would not rest until he was sure that Harry was really safe at Hogwarts.  _Which is not as easy as it seems_ , thought Severus remembering all the situations that Harry had gotten himself in his first three years at the school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I'm trying to post a chapter every other week... at least that is the plan... what did you all think about this chapter?


	23. Alastor Moody

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm Alive! And if anyone's still interested, here is the next chapter, hope you all like it!

Chapter 23 – Alastor Moody

An oppressive silence fell over the Headmaster’s office. Dumbledore tried to enjoy one of his beloved lemon drops, but the anxious aura surrounding Minerva, Filius and Pomona was making it difficult for him to do so. Alastor “mad-eye” Moody, current Hogwarts’ professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts and ex-auror was late for his appointment. While waiting, Severus watched the door avidly, his mind analyzing everything he knew about the ex-auror, especially what he knew about the incident right before the start of the school year.

There’s something wrong. Something fishy. Snape thought . And it’s quite obvious that whatever it is, it’s related somehow with this damned tournament.

When Alastor Moody finally showed up, it was like a Dementor had come with him. The room’s temperature seemed to have dropped down, making everyone in the office uncomfortable. Mad-eye didn’t seem to notice the tension amongst the other professor, he calmly sat in the only vacant chair, right in the middle of the room, with Dumbledore in front of him and surrounded by the four head of houses.

“You wanted to see me Albus?” asked Moody. Severus didn’t buy his peaceful looks.

“Yes, yes.” Answered Albus. “It has been brought to my attention that you intend to perform an unforgivable curse inside of Hogwarts. Multiple times. On my students.” Albus couldn’t believe he had been so truly fooled, but looking at the man sitting in front of him now, it was very obvious that he wasn’t his old friend. There was just something wrong with him.

“I thought you’d given me carte blanche, Albus, you said I could teach in wherever way I so choose. What better way to prepare the children then to show them what they’ll face outside?” was Alastor’s defence.

“I did give you carte blanche, my friend.” Say Dumbledore with a smile that could be seen as benevolent but it was actually hidden a predator smirk. 

“In that case…” said Moody as he got up and turned to the door.

“I didn’t say you could go.” Albus voice had a steel feeling to it “we have another matter to deal with.”

Slowly Moody sat again, taking his faithful flask from his pocket. Before he could drink, though, Severus took the flask from him.

“I have something else for you to try, Alastor.” The potion master handed him a small vial full with a clear liquid.

“Veritasserum? Why should I drink that?” his magic eye was going all over the place, looking for a way out. 

“Because I’m asking you to.” Answered Albus getting up and walking around the table to stop in front of Moody.

Severus gave him the vial with the truth serum and looked at Moody expectantly.

“Now, please, Alastor.”

Dumbledore had barely finished talking and Moody was up and desperately trying to reach the door.

“This is absurd, Albus!” he yelled trying to force the door open.

He had to get out of there that instant, so Moody pointed his wand to the closed door a bombarda spell ready to be said.

But Severus was faster, in less than five seconds he had disarmed and tied the ex-auror up, making him sit again.

Dumbledore sighed, deception clear in his eyes. The headmaster administered the three drops the potion required and saw as the non-magical eye of Moody became cloudy.

“What’s your name?” asked Albus.

“Bartholomew Crouch Jr.”

The other five people in the room looked at him with shocked eyes. Severus was the first to come back to himself and examine the flask he had taken from the imprisoned man. With just the odor that came out of the flask he confirmed his theory.

“Polijuice” he confirmed to the others.

“Where is the real Alastor?” demanded Dumbledore.

“Locked in his own trunk!” cackled Barty.

“What do you hope to gain by impersonation Moody?” Dumbledore continued to interrogate.

“I’m going to bring my master back!”

“How?” asked McGonagal.

“Potter will help me bring my master back to his full power! Mwahahahahaha” his cackle was getting worse, and every time he did it, it made the professors wince.

Hearing those words, Severus didn’t know what to do. His instincts were telling him to run and find his son, make sure he was safe, but they also told him that the best way to protect Harry was to stay and find all he could from Barty.

One look in Dumbledore’s direction was enough to help him decide to stay. Hearing the mad man’s plans were much more important at that moment. Harry was safe for now.

“And how did you intended to take Potter out of Hogwarts?” asked Severus, his voice firm even if he was nervous inside.

“I was instructed to infiltrate the school, the Dark Lord doesn’t reveal all his plans unless it’s necessary.”

He was lying. Severus was sure of it. He would need more than that to be able to act at the right moment.

“Winky!” called Crouch Jr.

And then it was chaos. With a pop the little house elf appeared in the office and with a look at the imprisoned man she was by his side and then they were gone. Severus wanted to scream, frustrated. They might have saved the real Alastor, but they had lost the chance to find out what Voldemort was planning. Worse yet, Crouch Jr. would undoubtedly tell his master all about Severus’ “treason”. In a few minutes he had lost the imposter and the spy. The school year couldn’t have started with worse presages. In less than a month the castle would be full of strangers, and one of them was a known death eater. Yeah, that year would be a tiring one.

WHOSSONWHOSSONWHOSSON

Two days after the whole Crouch Jr. fiasco, the real Moody was ready to start his teaching career. His disappearance for two days was explained as a strong bout of the wizarding flu. Seeing as his teaching style wasn’t all that different from Crouch’s, most of the students didn’t realize that anything was different, except by the fact that as soon as Alastor was inside his classroom, he announced that the practical lesson about the unforgiven curses were canceled by orders of the headmaster.

Harry Potter wasn’t like all the other students. Draco Malfoy could also be seen with a victorious smirk on his face after the announcement, almost like he had something to do with the headmaster’s decision. Harry not only notice that but also the worried looks some of the staff sent each other. Something had happened, and Harry wanted to know what had happened. Moody didn’t seem like someone who would chance his methods just because Dumbledore had asked. And the green eyed boy’s suspicions only grew with time and observation. Something weird was happening, and Harry couldn’t stop thinking that Voldemort had something to do with that.

**Author's Note:**

> So... what do you think? Should I continue? Or should I stay with only portuguese? Reviews? Please?


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